Triad
by Meitora
Summary: After two years, this story is finally COMPLETE: The full tale of Score, Helaine, and Pixel saving the Diadem (as always) set five years after the original series by John Peel. I hope you enjoy!
1. Morning

Morning on Dondar was a beautiful thing. Shatteringly violet rays streaked across the virgin sky, painting long shadows across the grass. The smell of dew and the promise of a sunny day hung heavily in the hollows of the trees, hiding from the encroaching sunlight. Helaine quietly accepted her surroundings and breathed deeply.  
Summer's golden touch had finally awoken passion in Dondar, causing scorching days and mild, scented nights. The endless fields were pregnant with the hope of a ripe harvest and hard work, but for now there existed only the blissful stretch of lazy days and the idle contemplation that accompanied it.  
Lazy and idle were not in Helaine's vocabulary. She arose, pre-dawn, every morning in order to complete her physical training before the sun's kiss truly parched the sky. Score and Pixel, the ninnies who were her dearest friends, were of course uninterested, so she labored through her exercises alone.   
But not today.   
Fully dressed and carrying two glasses of orange juice was Score, leaning against a withered old tree outside the clearing. Helaine hadn't even noticed him until now, and wondered how long he'd been studying her.   
"Hello," he said, smiling and offering her a glass of orange juice. Helaine gratefully accepted and wiped the sweat out of her eyes.   
"What are you doing here?" She asked, panting slightly. Score ignored her question.  
"It's kinda nice out, before the sun is up. Not too hot yet. We should do this more often." He picked up the crude quarterstaff Helaine had hastily fashioned from a dead limb and haphazardly swung it around.   
"Put that down," Helaine muttered wearily, knowing her words to be of no avail. She watched him spin the wood around clumsily a few times and added, "Besides, aren't you the one who said no normal human was up before noon?"  
Score shrugged and slung the staff over he shoulder in a bizzare parody of a hobo. "I knew you'd been doing something every morning, and I was curious." He tilted his head up to the morning sky and let the soft light warm his face before continuing, "are you done being the karate kid? I'm starving. Want some waffles?"   
Helaine, as usual, was baffled by his Earth colloquialisms, but she definitely understood and sympathized with the concept of hungry. "I'm famished," she agreed, "breakfast sounds wonderful."  
  
A few minutes later, in the grand kitchen of the castle, Score conjured up flour, butter, eggs, and milk, as well as a beastly-looking metal object with iron-black jaws. "Wouldn't it be more convenient and faster to create these 'waffles' as you do all your other food?" Helaine complained as her stomach did likewise.  
"What's the matter? You think I can't cook? I'll have you know I've made myself breakfast many times." Score added a pinch of salt and stirred some more. Helaine pushed back from the round table and stood behind Score, peering into the bowl.   
"It looks rather..." Helaine groped for the word, "...pasty."   
Score laughed and nudged her out of the way. "It hasn't gotten cooked yet, smart one!"   
"Oh."  
Helaine ambled back to the table and summoned the Book of Magic from her room. It was amazing, she thought as the tome thudded to the table, how it had already been five years since she had first touched her book, her baby. Shannara had explained this phenomenon to her gently during her last visit. Apparently, as magic-users, they were gifted with abnormally long lives, which prolonged their youth but also had the nasty side effect of making time fly faster. "Great, so we're stuck in eternal puberty," Score had half-whined, half-joked at the time. The five years had felt more like two.. if even. Helaine hadn't even noticed Score or Pixel getting older. Certainly, they were taller, and broader, but-  
"Waffles are ready!" Chirped Score eagerly, seeming quite un-Score-like, and interrupting Helaine's thoughts. He set two plates down on the table and pulled his chair up next to hers. With an easy word he transformed Pixel's flower vase into a bottle with a definite feminine cast, filled with amber, viscous liquid. "Aunt Jemima," he commented, as if that explained everything. Helaine poked gently at the round, pockmarked food.   
"Oh for heaven's sake Helaine its just a waffle. Eat it already." Score was already scarfing, as was usual for him and his voracious appetite. She tore off a piece and gently bit into it. It was surprisingly good. She took another bite, and another, until the lovely waffle had disappeared from her plate. Score laughed.   
"Aren't these great?" He asked. "I magicked the waffle iron to keep churning these puppies out until it runs out of batter, so-" Score ducked as a waffle soared out of the metal thing to flop on Helaine's plate, "-so dig in...here,try some with syrup."   
Helaine, normally fastidious in her eating habits, found herself dripping the sticky sweet substance down her chin and licking it off her fingers. "Gods...this...lovely..." she managed to choke out between bites.   
"What's going on?" A sleepy-eyed Pixel, still in his floppy pajamas, had wandered into the kitchen. "Mmm..." he added tiredly, "something smells good."   
  
  
******  
The Author clears her throat, and begins her traditional post-chapter talk, when she is suddenly and violently seized by the next chapter and decides to skip this whole silly thing and waltz right into beautiful chapter two... 


	2. Changes

Helaine stood beneath her enchanted shower head and let the water run down her face and pool around her feet before disappearing. It had taken a few weeks to get used to using the shower after every time she exercised, but after enough not-so-subtle complaints from the boys about her odious presence, she learned to enjoy her private moments with the water. She was nicely saturated at this point, and she reached for the bottle of shampoo Score had given her. She was probably one of the most powerful magicians in the entire Diadem, but she could never quite master the creation of the hair cleanser, which Pixel attributed to her lack of knowledge of chemistry, and Score to her general girliness. "Just like a woman... to use something everyday and not know how it works," he'd teased. Even so, the sweet pea scented bottle had appeared in her shower the next day, without fanfare, and managed to remain half-full at all times, no matter how much she used. It was a Score sort of thing to do, she mused, massaging her scalp.   
  
Wrapped in a magically-heated towel, Helaine continued with her post-shower ritual by reciting her mild variation of the spell Score had performed in the tomb on Zarathan so long ago. After several bad hair days, she had finally tweaked the words just right so they removed the moisture without causing the horrible frizz. Not that she cared, of course.  
  
Helaine stared blankly into the mid-length mirror that was hung slightly crooked on her wall. It had a lovely porcelain frame with little roses painted around it. While divvying up the bedrooms in the castle, she had strictly stated that the overtly feminine mirror was to remain in another room. This of course, sealed its fate as being permanently hung in Helaine's bathroom. She suspected Score was behind this prank, as well. Pixel tended to respect her wishes, which was a lovely diversion from the irritating Earth boy.   
  
Regardless, there the mirror was, reflecting her upper body back at her. It was a blatant reminder that she should no longer try to pass off as a male. She swept her blonde hair up messily on top of her head. Was she attractive?  
  
It didn't matter.   
  
Helaine dressed speedily in her new, climate-adjusted attire. Much to her dismay, the summer heat won out over her sense of decency, and her old, favorite tunic and breeches had been carefully tucked away in her trunk. Score had tried to coax her into shockingly lewd Earth garb, but with a little assistance from Pixel, Helaine was able to create a wardrobe more tailored to her tastes. The material her 'shorts' were composed of was light and smooth to the touch, and, best of all, refused to cling to her legs, nicely masking most of her upper thigh. The array of shirts she now owned were all patterned after the same design. The high collar suited her well, though the cropped-off sleeves were slightly disturbing. Necessity, of course, dictated bare arms, but still...if only her father could see her now!  
  
  
  
It was an idyllic existence, Score thought. A happy dream world, painted in the most vibrant colors, dotted with peaceful little animals and unicorns. Like a child's story book. There hadn't been any Diadem-threatening traumas threatening to boil over in a long time now. Nothing but good friends, good food, and good weather.   
  
He took off his shirt and squirmed a little on the rock he was lying on. It was hot, just like yesterday. Like tomorrow, too. A good day for tanning.   
  
Pixel sat below him, in the shade his resting place provided, reading some ancient volume of magic. It was probably very boring and musty and cryptic. Just the sort of thing the blue-skinned kid liked.   
  
Score rolled over onto his back and stared at the massive expanse of sky suspended so seemingly near above his head. He expected he would spend the day doing the same thing he did everyday. As soon as her Majesty the Queen of Haughtiness, aka Helaine, appeared, the three would set off in one direction or another and explore their planet a little more. They would find a nice place to picnic and have a grand lunch before heading back to the castle. The evening would be spent out in the castle's newly replenished garden, Pixel's hobby, talking and comparing thoughts on magic and the world.   
  
It was nice.  
It was boring.  
But it was nice.  
  
And wasn't boredom what he'd always wanted? Wasn't this peaceful languor what he'd pleaded for all along? Somehow, now that he had it, he wasn't sure if didn't miss the old days. Back when they were all at odds with each other, back when they were three steps ahead of Certain Doom, back when their lives were being controlled by unknown forces.   
  
Happiness was elusive, he concluded, as he saw Helaine approaching his sunning rock, her familiar gait recognizable from a hundred yards away. Score slid reluctantly off his rock and put his shirt back on. Helaine was touchy about that sort of thing.   
  
They were silent for awhile. Score glanced up expectantly at the sky. Not a day went by when he didn't expect something to swoop down and start a problem. But it was empty. The dragons had long ago learned to steer clear of the castle and the surrounding lands, and no other predator posed even near so large a threat.   
  
Helaine shifted her weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. She shared a house, a life, and a destiny with the two on either side of her, but she was somehow ill at ease today. Silly as it sounded, she wanted to talk to Nova, the roan mother unicorn of the herd the three had befriended. But Nova, Thunder and darling Flame had followed in the hoofprints of their ancestors, migrating to the cooler climates in the mountains, leaving their normal stomping grounds deserted.   
  
Telepathy was always an option, Helaine knew, but somehow, communicating over such a great distance, without a real reason, seemed silly. Besides, she would be doing it behind the boys' backs, which made it seem dishonest and dirty. So she quelled her uncertainty and continued to stare at the brown, dried grass beneath her feet.   
  
"Maybe...over by the stream we found last time? To the east?" Pixel started hesitantly. The words didn't need to be said, but there was clearly something wrong with Helaine. He shot Score a fleeting look over her head, and was met with concerned eyes. Score cleared his throat.   
  
"Actually, I was in the mood for some good, old-fashioned, at-home relaxing today." Score gave Pixel a significant glance.   
  
"Umm...yeah. I just remembered that I wanted to get started on the pond for the garden," Pixel wasn't lying, he had been planning for awhile now to add some harmony to his sanctuary by creating some waterfalls and pools, with maybe some fish. Now was as good as time as any to start.   
  
Helaine glanced up at the two boys. "What?" she snapped. "What do you think is wrong with me? I can hear you inside my heads."  
  
Pixel took Helaine by the arm gently, "And you are in ours. If there's something bothering you, Helaine, you can always tell us."  
  
Score thought Pixel was wasting his time. Helaine was Little Miss Secretive, no way would she bare her soul and deliver a shocking revelation.  
  
"I want to go away." Helaine clamped her mouth shut and looked as surprised as the boys. "I mean," she quickly corrected, "I mean..." she trailed off.   
  
"I want to go away" she said again, softly.   
  
"Where?" Pixel asked.   
  
"I don't know. Shanara's castle, maybe. Maybe... home."  
  
"Why?" Score queried, still sounding surprised.   
  
"I don't know."  
  
It was quiet. Somewhere an insect hummed ignorantly.   
  
"Of course, Helaine. You can go wherever you like. You don't...have to stay with us." Pixel clumsily explained, unnecessarily. His remark was punctuated with several nods on behalf of all parties. The ensuing hush sat uneasily between the three.   
  
Score slapped his arm. "Damn bugs." The other two stared at him for a half second, and broke into grateful laughter at the slaying of the silence.   
  
  
  
*****  
The Authors Edges In a Word (or two)  
Yummy. John Peel leaves us hanging, so somebody's got to fill in the gaps. However, I am not fond of dealing with twelve year olds, thus it was necessary to set the story several years later. Maybe someday... I'll fill in some gaps. Anyway. This story has been much long in the making...it actually started back in, wow, about 1999 (goodness). It just took this long A.) for me to mature the dust bunny and B.) to find an audience. I think this will be Diadem ficcy 8 or so...which gives me a rather warm and fuzzy feeling. Hey, at least we're out there. To the rest of you, keep writing, Score, Helaine, and Pixel have a basket's worth of stories to be told. Until next update, then, there will be much love from me to you.  
Aroo!  
--Meitora 


	3. Last Night

"What do you think it will be like?" Pixel asked suddenly, pausing in the middle of his beverage-making spell.   
  
"What will be like?" returned Score as he slumped in his hammock, suspended over a pool of short greenery.   
  
"This place. Without her." Pixel finished the incantation and watched as a cool drink materialized into the pitcher.   
  
"Oh." Score pushed off against the ground with his feet and swung gently for a short while. The breeze had the faint hint of cinnamon and celery and change. "Different, I guess" he said finally.   
  
"We haven't really been apart since, well, since we met." Pixel shrugged and turned away from Score's hard gaze. "I mean, it's always been the three of us, triad reborn, whatever. But when she goes..." he trailed off, skipping over the glaring neon thoughts that lurked in both their minds. Score shifted and rocked under the gauze canopy of the garden.  
  
It was a beautiful creation, this garden, that Pixel had wrought from the dry though fertile Dondar soil. Some of it was, of course, magically encouraged, but it was gorgeous. The boiling radiation had given way to a cool velvet night, complete with a pearly moon suspended low to the horizon. Score imagined Eden, and saw Adam and Eve sitting in lounge chairs similar to the one Pixel relaxed in, and watching the lavender sky with the same serenity he felt.   
  
Helaine stalked in and draped herself across another chair for a second before helping herself to a chilled glass of juice. She didn't offer to share what she had spent the day doing. Pixel and Score had tried to stay out of her way. She didn't appear flustered or angry. Instead, a soft tranquillity inundated her movements, something that had been missing from Helaine for months.   
  
"I've thought about it," she said suddenly. "I hadn't thought about it before but now I have." Artificial fireflies tweaked on as the sun faded, and a steady glow from a pulsating ball of light suspended above the table timidly emerged. "I'm bored." she said.   
  
Pixel waited for the rest of the speech to continue, but there seemed to be no more. "So what forms of excitement do you necessarily plan to find?" He asked, a bit more sharply than he intended.   
  
"I'm going to see Shanara. And from there, I'm going somewhere else. A rim world, maybe. I want to see people. I need a change." She looked up demurely.   
  
Pixel looked intently into Helaine's tired eyes, and she stared back. It was genuine. The languid peace of Dondar tore at her more than the sword of any enemy. Pixel broke the gaze and looked over at Score, who had yet to say a word.  
  
But there was no reaction from the hammock. "Score?" Helaine pushed the name out into the air tentatively.   
  
Score rolled over. "Helaine, we can manage without you. If you want to leave, then do it already." The words were strung with sarcasm, but the sentiment was kindly. Helaine grinned for a half-second, forgetting her normal imperturbability, then sobered.   
  
"The two of you are my best friends. Thank you for understanding."  
  
"Oh, quit blubbering and eat." Score turned the tablecloth into a platter, heaped high with hot burgers.   
  
Some things never change, thought Pixel as he reached for one.   
  
  
  
Helaine pattered down the castle stairs quietly. She was back in her favorite breeches and tunic, and carried her sword, freshly polished, against her side. The quiver was on her back and her hair was tightly bound away from her eyes. She felt like she'd shed years.   
  
She didn't want to wake the boys and bother them with goodbyes, so in the early morning hours she made her way through the castle and out to the courtyard, where it would be easier to create the Portal to Shanara's Castle. She had spoken to the witch the night before, and made plans for her arrival.   
  
Helaine pushed open the door to the courtyard, and blinked in the hasty gray sunlight. Score was standing there.   
  
"Don't let being with me every morning become a habit" she warned him solemnly. He laughed.   
  
"I knew you would try to sneak out without saying anything." He handed her a small, wrapped package. "Pixel and I made it for you. We were feeling mushy, I guess." Helaine tucked it into her knapsack and grasped Score's hand warmly.   
  
"Thank you Score, and thank Pixel as well. I'll be back soon, don't worry." To her surprise, Score grabbed her roughly in a short embrace.  
  
"You'd better," he said roughly, before pushing her away. "Haven't you got a Portal to catch?" he asked in a lighter tone. Helaine laughed as the two summoned the gash between the two worlds.   
  
"Bye," Helaine waved as she stepped towards the emptiness.   
  
"Later," Score raised a hand as she disappeared into the void, which closed behind her.   
  
She was gone.  
  
  
  
  
*****  
The Author considers speaking, and then decides against it. Nobody reads these endnotes, anyway...  
Much love to everyone, Happy Daylight Savings  
Aroo! 


	4. White Monkey

"Pet me" commanded Blink, the semi-lovable red panda. Helaine obliged and stroked its increasingly vulgar stomach. She was curled up in a warm blanket by Shanara's hearth. The Mistress of Shapes had disappeared into another room to fetch hot drinks and breakfast, promising a hasty return.  
  
Helaine removed her fingers from Blink's belly and unwrapped the smallish gift given to her by the boys. A mischievous white monkey scampered out of the brown paper and danced around on the palm of her hand, finally settling on entwining itself around her left thumb. Instantly it thinned itself out, looking like an odd ring, though it winked at her and yawned. Amused, Helaine read the accompanying note.   
  
  
  
Helaine--  
Found this spell somewhere, thought it humorous. But the little guy has a practical use, too. He is under strict orders not to leave you, and he monitors your health. You get in trouble, and Pix and I will be the first to know. Anyway, I don't care if you like it or not because I wanted to get you lacy black panties but Pix wouldn't let me. He's a prude.  
--Score   
  
PS   
I am not.  
--Pixel  
  
PPS  
Yes, he really is.  
--Score   
  
  
  
Helaine laughed out loud and swallowed down a little bubble of homesickness. But it was not the time for self-doubting, not so early in her journey. Shanara had just burst into the room with mugs of a cider-like liquid. "It's been a span of years since I last saw you, Helaine" the older woman said cheerfully. Her hair today was a deep obsidian, with brilliant cobalt strands aesthetically placed. Helaine wondered off-hand what the actual color was. "I don't believe you said why it was you wanted to come visit me alone. Normally it's a three-for-one kind of deal, isn't it?"  
  
Helaine nodded. "But that's just the problem. I've missed myself so much. Back on Ordin, I ran away from the child my father wanted. I thought I found myself in Dondar, but I really can't be sure." Helaine stared into the flames of the fire, recalling another large hearth and another woman sitting with her, listening to her.   
  
"I wouldn't worry so much if I were you, darling. I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but its perfectly normal to feel unsettled. Especially as a magic-user. You wouldn't believe how much turmoil I went through at your age. Oh yes, I was quite the brat." Shanara smiled and offered Helaine a biscuit off her tray.   
  
"Oooh... food..." purred Blink, reaching out his tiny paw.  
  
  
  
"So what do you think?" Asked Score. He had stacked up seven decks of playing cards in a giant mansion. It had taken up the lion's share of the Great Room, and included a garage, car, and third story balcony. He had cheated only a smidgen…well, maybe more than a smidgen.   
  
"I think you're bored out of your mind," Pixel replied dryly without looking up from his book. Score thought about it for a minute, then willed the cards back into their boxes with a snap of the fingers. "Admit it," Pixel said with a superior tone, "you miss her."   
  
"I do not," Score muttered, levitating the deuce of clubs over Pixel's head so that it tickled the back of his neck.   
  
"You haven't done anything all day except mope around the castle and-" he snatched at the irritating card, and missed "-annoy me. You miss her."  
  
"I know that I won't miss you making dopey cow eyes at her." Score leered and ducked out of the way of the pillow Pixel had halfheartedly thrown at him.   
  
"Don't be stupid" he said. It was true that he and Helaine had stolen a half-dozen kisses in the corridors of the castle, but it was too weird for both of them, and it had stopped soon after it started. He didn't think Score knew. "Anyway," he continued, "why don't you find something-someone-to do?" He grinned as the pillow he had thrown returned to him with an equal force.   
  
"Maybe I will," huffed Score with a smile, "you're just jealous because you can't get any."  
  
Pixel refused to grace that comment with a reply, and immersed himself in his book again.  
  
Score wandered outside to his tanning rock. He thought about what Pixel had said. Helaine had pretty much been his only female companion for the last five years. She was nice, he supposed, but if all girls were like her, he thought he'd go crazy. She was demanding, violent, and temperamental. Very nice-looking, but quite the sourpuss, especially when she was feeling insecure.   
  
Why was he thinking about her again?  
  
Helaine was gone from Dondar, there was absolutely no reason for her to linger about in her mind. What we need, he thought dreamily to himself, are some neighbors.   
  
  
  
Pixel sat back and admired his handiwork. He was nearly finished digging the hole for the main pond. He could have easily done it with magic, of course, but there was something more satisfying about working in the soil with his own hands and feeling the sweat drip down his chest. He wasn't much for being physical, but the garden brought out a different side to him. Things were quieter without Helaine, that was for certain. She and Score were prone to bickering like children. Score was crazy about her, of course. Pixel didn't even think Score himself knew it yet. But Pixel had a gift for perceiving things the average person would not have seen, and it was clear to him that the Earth boy admired Helaine greatly. He drew designs in the sand lazily. It was entertaining, really, their battles.   
  
A turtle-like animal moved in the bushes and Pixel watched its wizened head bob up and down, munching on a leaf. He was ready to begin digging again when Score popped his head into the garden from the castle.   
  
"Hey Pix," he called, "let's go hunt down some new neighbors!"   
  
Pixel rolled his eyes. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.   
  
  
  
  
  
*****  
Nyum...A few words on the story and other things:  
I can't promise to be one of those brilliant authors who manage to churn out three chapters a week or anything. I throw shot put and javelin on the varsity track team, which means (lucky me) that I get to spend about 15 hours a week doing sport-like things. Joy. So pardon the fact that I'm hardly speedy in writing... I just never seem to have the time (sigh).   
Secondly, for those of you who are curious, Score and Pixel and DEFINITELY still in the story...I couldn't do it without them! And, not to give anything away, but there is the hint of romance on the horizon *wink wink* but be patient! These things take time! Especially when the two in subject are generally opposed to romance and mush :)  
Finally, thank all of you SO much for reviewing... I'm sure you know that there is NOTHING like finding out that there are crazy people out there who actually like what you write...! (wow!)  
Anyway, think happy thoughts... my birthday is in ten days yay!  
Aroo!  
--Meitora 


	5. Searching

The search began with Score feverishly jumping about the common room the next morning. "How do you tell if someone is a magic user?" he asked Pixel, "I mean, we don't want to meet some great people and then have them explode on us when we try to take them through the Portal."   
  
"We shall certainly try to prevent any unfortunate exploding," Pixel replied dryly. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Don't you think there's a reason that there are absolutely no other people on Dondar at all?"  
  
"Coincidence," scoffed Score, "Besides, we're hot-shots, we can take care of them."   
  
Pixel stared at his friend for a few seconds. "I don't think it's such a great idea. What do you want more people around here for anyway? And what makes you think they're going to want to come?"  
  
Score shrugged. "Oh come on, with my charm? Who could resist?"  
  
"Right." Pixel muttered sarcastically, "you charm, I forgot."  
  
"Don't tell me you don't want to do this," Score whined as Pixel scrawled on a piece of paper.   
  
"Wait here" the smaller boy commanded as he dashed up the stairs to the bedrooms. Score tottered around the room, running his hands over the tapestries that lined the walls. Helaine crept into the back of his skull. She would side with him against Pixel, he was sure. She wanted something new and exciting. Wasn't that why she left?  
  
Pixel returned with one of his festering tomes of spells. Score groaned. "Work work work" he complained.   
  
"Shut up," said Pixel, "you're starting to sound like Blink. Besides, you said you wanted a visitor." He fumbled through the pages.  
  
"Yeah, so?"   
  
"So why don't you start with a little humanitarian service? Look," Pixel shoved the book in Score's nose, "it's a searching spell. We list the specifications, and the spell, in combination with my ruby, will find the person. Are you in?"  
  
"What kind of person are we looking for, exactly?" Score asked guardedly.   
  
"Well, I thought since we have so much plenty, we could find someone in an incredible situation of need. You know, and help them out a bit. Get them back on their feet or whatnot." Score thought about what Pixel said. It sounded like a good start. In fact, it sort of appealed to him. Matt Caruso, young street kid, rises from the gutter and helps his former kind. Then he thought about it some more.   
  
"Yeah, Pixel, I don't know what kind of happy-go-lucky world you're from, but uh, the kind of people you're talking about on Earth, they're more likely to rob us then thank us."   
  
Pixel nodded sagely. "I already thought of that," he said.  
  
"Of course you did," Score sighed.  
  
"A child. We'll find some poor abandoned kid somewhere and fix them up real nice here. They would have to have some magic-wielding capabilities of course, or else we won't get them through the Portal."  
  
Score cogitated. "Okay," he agreed, "What could go wrong?"  
  
  
  
  
On another world, Helaine was just waking up. It was the first time she'd slept late in a long time. She stretched and yawned and considered re-curling up in the warm blankets that were heaped on her bed. It was divinely warm.   
  
She forced her foot off the bed and dragged the rest of her body out of her slumber. The stone floor was a teeth grinding cold, and she skipped on her toes to the rug across her room. A thick blue robe hung on a hook. Helaine gratefully wrapped it around herself and tied it closed. It was time to hunt for some breakfast.   
  
She poked her nose outside her door. She couldn't smell any food cooking, certainly no waffles in Shanara's castle. Helaine padded down the hall. Pixel always said she walked just like a cat. She paused at the crest of the stairs and looked down. The kitchen was undoubtedly beneath her somewhere, but the bathroom, which she thought was located somewhere on the second floor, was sounding very appealing.   
  
Trying to remember the directions Shanara had given her the night before, Helaine felt her way down the corridor again. Was it the second or third door on the left? Second. It was definitely the second. Helaine triumphantly pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into-  
  
A man. Helaine blinked for a second to be sure she was seeing things correctly. Tall, dark, and frighteningly handsome in the shadow of the dim room- he was real, no doubt. She backed out the door silently, eyes wide and white.   
  
"Come again soon," he said huskily as she shut the door and fled down the stairs into the safe embrace of the warmly lit kitchen. Helaine gulped and sat down at the table, and then relaxed.   
  
"You know," she said aloud to herself, "you're being remarkably silly. It's just a man, after all." She smiled a little to herself and sank into her chair a bit more. Come again soon. It was the first enticing thing she'd heard a man say to her. Helaine blushed. Now was NOT the time to be thinking about this.   
  
But why not? She countered herself. Why not think about 'this'? She was a magic powerhouse and best friends with two boys, but that didn't change her status of seventeen and single. Technically, she supposed she was still engaged to Lord Muckety-muck, but who was to make her keep that promise?   
  
Shanara drifted into the kitchen in a haze of dreamy pink hair. "Good morning, Helaine," she mumbled as she groped through the kitchen to the giant iron kettle hanging over the fire. The sorceress dipped an enormous spoon into the pot and scooped herself out a glop of gray sludge. "Want some?" The bathrobe-encased woman fixed another bowl without waiting for Helaine's answer. She slid the second bowl down the table to Helaine. "Transfigure away," she waved a hand and plunged a spoon into a bowl of strawberries. Helaine watched as Shanara made a face and took another bite. "No matter how pretty they look, it always ends up tasting like goop." She complained.  
  
Helaine transformed her sludge into piping hot brown sugar oatmeal, and decided not to mention that it tasted just fine. No point in showing her hostess up.   
  
"Morning, love," Shanara blew a kiss across the room. Helaine looked up and saw her mystery man, still ruggedly handsome and dashing. "Helaine, this is Dorian," She waved a manicured hand as he grinned charmingly at Helaine.   
  
"We've met," he said as he pulled up a chair to the table across from Shanara. Helaine felt something drop in her stomach. He smiled.   
  
"Really? That's wonderful." Shanara continued eating her strawberries, stealing glances at Dorian every few seconds and beaming. Oh God, thought Helaine, Shanara's in love.   
  
  
  
  
  
"According to the spell, we have to recite the characteristics we're looking for in this manner..." Pixel trailed off as he skimmed the page. Score chewed on a piece of sun-baked grass. The boys had relocated their project to the riverside, as magic was generally more convenient when performed outside.   
  
"How old are we thinking, Pix old buddy?" He asked, peering at the page over his friends shoulder.   
  
"I was thinking seven or eight. We have to be able to handle the kid, and we're not all that old ourselves. Too young, and there are going to be some communication issues." Pixel stared at the letters a minute longer and then announced smugly, "I've got it." Score, by now well used to Pixel's uncanny skills, leaned back and waited. "We list the specifications in order of importance, and create a tag out of those words by reversing and dividing into chunks of syllables."   
  
"You know, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you definitely just pulled that out of your ass." Score commented, ignoring Pixel's dirty look.   
  
"So... strong magic user, orphan, age seven, translates into..." Pixel stared off into space a moment, "nev es eg an ah pro re su cig am gnorts." Score shook his head.  
  
"I'll never understand you. Gnorts?"  
  
"Just concentrate with me, okay?" Pixel demanded. Score sighed and fell in with his companion, focusing on the image of an orphan that would be strong enough not to explode through a Portal. After a minute of gray mind fog, Score still didn't see anything.   
  
"Uh, Pix? Is it working?" He asked.   
  
"Shh..." Pixel muttered. Score cracked an eye open and saw the ruby sitting on the ground was pulsing with fuzzy red light. "Okay, I found one," Pixel said quietly, "Now how do you propose we bring them here? They live on one of the rim worlds. Not Earth" Pixel added quickly seeing Score's look. "Not my planet, Calomir, either," he frowned. "We can't make a Portal directly there, because so far, no one has been able to do it. Not even the original Triad."  
  
"Why not? Aren't we stronger than them anyway?" asked Score.   
  
"We haven't got Helaine with us." Pixel reminded him.   
  
"I know I know but...let's go for it. What's the name of the planet we're connecting to?"  
  
"I don't think it'll work, Score" Pixel began, then saw the look on his friend's face. "Oh. Myrd. That's the name, I think."   
  
"Okay. On three then." Score counted and focused hard. A long time passed. Score peeked his eyes open. "It's not working, is it?"   
  
Pixel shook his head.   
  
"What about... well, remember what the Triad said?" Score's eyes gleamed.   
  
"They said a lot. Most of it nonsense. What are you referring to?"   
  
"They said... 'Here on Jewel, you can do anything at all, if you have the power and know how to use it.'... right? Or something like that?"   
  
Pixel thought about it. "You want us to go back to Jewel? Are you sure we can get in?"   
  
"Well, sure," Score said, "I mean, we only sealed off the analog room." He glared at Pixel's uncertainty. "Let's go, come on."   
  
Pixel sighed and shook his head as the two created a Portal to the prison world of Jewel.   
  
  
  
  
  
*****  
Hello All...  
Many thanks for the lovely birthday wishes(*Ihire*)!!! I had a great day, luckily, though it did spark an idea for a miserable birthday story that stole away some of my time this week. Haven't posted it yet, but I'm working on it :)  
Track has been trackly as usual, thanks for all your patience with my slow updates and poor grammar. Anyone out there who wants to be a beta?   
Umm... I think that covers everything. If you're familiar with Oscar Wilde at all, you might have a glimmering of an idea as to where I'm heading with Dorian.   
So yup! Cheers to you all, keep writing and reading and (of course) reviewing!   
Couldn't do it without you guys :)  
Aroo!  
--Meitora 


	6. Child

"I don't know about this," said Pixel for the umpteenth time. Score gritted his teeth and ignored the blue-skinned boy's doubts. "It just seems a little... immoral. I mean, who are we to whisk some kid away from their home? I seem to remember not being too happy about it when it happened to us." Score rolled his eyes as Pixel continued. "Besides, if we're finding some kid who can make it all the way to Dondar then... then that's one hell of a magician, right? What if we screw up and get stuck with another power-starved dictator wannabe?"  
  
"Pix, calm down. He's only seven. Plus we always have the power to send them back where they came from. And everything worked out for the best when we were taken to Treen, didn't it?" Score retorted, kicking a loose stone down the corridor in Jewel. They hadn't been to Sarman's castle since they had almost become his ticket to ultimate hegemony. It was empty, except for a faint humming that emitted from the analog room. The unicorn horn, wedged in the room, and the negating field it created prevented the boys from entering. Which was as it should be, of course.   
  
"Well?" Score demanded, "Are you ready?"  
  
"One more qualm," Pixel inserted, pursing his thin lips. "What about Helaine?"  
  
"What about her?"  
  
"Well, how do you think she's going to feel if she comes home to find that we've adopted a stray?" Pixel was adamant.   
  
"I dunno. I imagine she'd think it was neat. If she has a problem we can always work it out when she gets back, which, in case you forgot, might not be for a while." Score didn't want to think about Helaine right now. He was too busy pretending not to miss her.   
  
"Fine," Pixel said, "But I'm blaming you, if anything goes wrong." Score shrugged, and began the spell for opening the Portal. "What are you doing?" Pixel asked.   
  
"Making violent love to the tooth fairy." Score bit back sarcastically. "What does it look like I'm doing?"   
  
"Well, I was just thinking, while we're on Jewel, why don't we just summon the kid here? Who says we can't? Besides, if we both go to Myrd, then who's going to open the Portal to get us home?"   
  
Score had to admit that Pixel had a point. "Okay, you take the lead then. Summon away."   
  
The two fell silent as they concentrated. Using the calling spell they had learned so long ago, combined with the results of their finding spell, Pixel focused his energy and Score's at the hazy yellow cloud that was forming in front of them. As he watched, the cloud condensed and took the form of a smallish person. Like bringing a microscope into focus, the fuzziness of the cloud sharpened to show colors, lines, and finally a child.   
  
Pixel let out a whoosh of air as the spell finished. Though it was far more complicated and difficult than any spell he'd done so far, and had depleted him of quite a bit of energy, he instantly began feeling better. One of the many effects of performing magic on Jewel, he assumed.   
  
The child looked all around it and then suddenly seemed to see Score and Pixel. It hissed and fell into a low crouch, brandishing a knife. "Hey now!" Said Score wearily. "None of that." He offered a hand to the child of indecipherable sex under layers of grime and rags. It spat and backed away. "I wish we had Helaine's agate," Score muttered to Pixel as he withdrew the hand. "I don't think the little bugger understands us at all."   
  
Pixel was not as easily defeated. "Hello," he said slowly, "We don't want to hurt you. Why don't you start by telling us your name?" The stranger backed up again, and kept a firm grip on the knife.   
  
"Who are you?" It asked in a thin, reedy voice. Score and Pixel exchanged a look.   
  
"My name is Pixel. This is Score. We brought you here. We don't want to hurt you." Pixel reemphasized his goodwill.   
  
"You with the Watch?" It asked, tilting its small head.   
  
"Erm, I don't think so." Pixel and Score looked at each other again. Then Score thought of something.   
  
"You hungry, kid?" The savage guest hesitated a moment, then nodded voraciously. "You want something to eat maybe?" The knife wavered a little, then slid away to a hidden pocket. Score considered transforming a rock into a burger or something, then decided not to alarm the poor guy any more. He quickly opened a Portal back to Dondar. Instantly the child skittered away from the black gap in space and cowered in the shadows.   
  
"What's that?" It asked quavering.   
  
"A door," Pixel said simply. "Are you hungry or not?" And with that he nonchalantly stepped through the Portal. With a glance at Score for approval, the urchin cautiously followed. Score jumped through last, leaving Jewel for the sun soaked Dondar.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
First things first, thought Helaine as she buckled her boots. She had old friends in the woodland and tunnels below that she had to visit, now that she was on Rawn. She selected a warm fur from Shanara's bountiful supply and wondered why the three hadn't been to visit the goblins and centaurs since the last they'd met. Helaine couldn't wait to see Rothar and Dethrin - especially Dethrin. The noble and friendly centaur reminded her vaguely of someone, but she couldn't quite remember who.  
  
Helaine could hear Shanara and Dorian in the common room, but she didn't feel like looking. They were laughing.   
  
Outside, a nasty wind clawed her face, but it was not far to the cave where she'd first been dumped by the Portal a long time ago. She smiled. Score had been such a pain, still coming to terms with Helaine, as opposed to Renald. He had grown a lot since then. She supposed they all had.   
  
Helaine wandered down the goblin tunnel for a little ways, her path lit by a gently bobbing orb of light. "Hallo goblins!" She called down ahead of her.   
  
"Eh, now, who's there?" A voice echoed back up to her.   
  
"It's Helaine," she replied as she kept walking, "Your ally."  
  
"Helaine?" The voice was closer and suddenly she found herself face to face with an unfamiliar goblin. His eyes widened and shined. "Human..." he hissed softly.   
  
"Don't you know me?" She demanded, half annoyed, "where is Gunther?" She was fond of the black-humored goblin chief.   
  
"Gunther?" The goblin asked, jangling the beads that hung around his neck. He looked confused. "Are you the Helaine they speak of? You should follow me."  
  
Wondering exactly how many Helaines the goblins knew, she followed her guide down the tunnel until she reached a door in the wall. The goblin knocked fiercely and then opened it. "Go on in," he said. Helaine obeyed and stepped in, followed by her guide. She walked forwards until she saw the goblin chief, sitting in his pint-sized throne.   
  
"You aren't Gunther," Helaine snapped, startled. "Where is he?"   
  
"Who are you?" asked the goblin, looking her up and down curiously.   
  
"I'm Helaine," she said patiently, "Ally to the goblins. Where is Gunther?"   
  
"Gunther? The legendary goblin king? He's been dead for generations... What would you know of Gunther?" The chieftain leapt out of his chair and walked up to get a better look at Helaine.   
  
"He's my friend, for one. I defeated the Wyrm for him. And what do you mean, he's dead? It was only five years ago that we were here!" Helaine swallowed a queasy lump in her throat.   
  
"You? You defeated the Wyrm? But you're a myth! My great-great grandfather was just a boy in those days. How are you still alive?" The goblin seemed as baffled as Helaine. She thought for a moment before speaking.   
  
"How many winters does a goblin see in his life?" She asked.   
  
"One, maybe two, depending when they are born, why?"   
  
"I get it. See, a human usually lives to see fifty on my world, and even longer on Score's and Pixel's." Helaine explained slowly. If the average goblin lifespan was less than two years, then it would make sense that five years would seem a long time ago. And it would then make sense that Gunther was long dead. She felt a sharp twang deep inside her as she remembered their adventures on Rawn.   
  
"What the hell do you do with fifty years? It only takes one to have children and teach them all that is important." Gunther's successor peered at Helaine out of half-shuttered eyes.   
  
"I... I haven't figured that out yet. I'm still a child." She admitted, twisting the monkey ring on her finger. It winked at her.   
  
"My name is Yangor. If you are truly who you say you are-"  
  
"I am."  
  
"-then I pledge my allegiance to you. Gunther was widely praised for his decision, and I see it wise to continue in his tradition." Yangor offered his clawed hand. Helaine took it gravely.  
  
"Thank you, Yangor. I will continue to regard the goblins as my closest friends." She smiled and bowed her head quickly. This pleased Yangor, and he clapped her shoulder.   
  
"It has been a long time since the goblins have seen the likes of you, Helaine. But..." He trailed off.  
  
"But what?"   
  
"According to the legend, you were accompanied by two males. Where are they?" Helaine looked down and bit her lip.   
  
"I'm traveling alone right now." She said softly, twisting the monkey ring again. It felt warm beneath her fingers. Yangor wisely decided not to press the issue.   
  
"Come!" he said waving his hand and trotting briskly towards the door. "We will prepare a feast to welcome you back home to the goblins!"  
  
  
  
  
*****  
Sorry bout the long time, my fault, big track meet this week (conferences), so I have been quite the busy. In other news, well, no other news. Everyone else keep writing, and have a lovely week! aroo! 


	7. One Candle

Pixel watched their ferocious guest scarf food like it was going out of style. "How did you know food would work?" he asked Score, who shrugged.   
  
"When I was out on the street, I planned my life around finding nourishment. Hunger is pretty common." His eyes glazed over as he thought for a moment on his former, hellish existence.   
  
"Why are you feeding me?" The child asked suspiciously. It had just consumed an entire banquet that Score had whipped up out of nowhere.   
  
"Weren't you hungry?" Score retorted.   
  
A nod.   
  
"Well, then, we didn't want you to be hungry." Score said this easily, as though human goodwill was the most natural thing in the world. Wide blue eyes stared at him.   
  
"We'd like to make it so that you aren't ever hungry." Pixel opened an innocent looking cupboard and rummaged through it, looking for a sweet to give the child.   
  
"What do you mean?" A little hand snaked onto the table and stuffed a last cracker into its pocket.   
  
"Score and I, we have everything we could every want. More food than we could eat. We know that you're hungry and we'd like to share it with you." Pixel found a peppermint and tossed it to the child, who deftly caught it and popped it in its mouth.   
  
"You're crazy. You ent going to do asperiments on me or nuffin, are you?" Mangy hair curtained the face of their supplicant. Score blinked.   
  
"Experiments? Of course not. We just want to give you someplace to stay, something to eat."   
  
"I dunno... how come me?"  
  
"Why not you?" Score countered. He knew that, if presented with this offer when he was a street kid, he too would have been wary of abnormally nice people. The youngster would come around eventually.   
  
"You gots a bed for me too?" There was a hint of hope in the voice this time.   
  
"Absolutely. Would you like to see it?" Pixel waved a hand in the direction of the stairs. The child bounded off the chair and followed Pixel, at a distance. Score watched the way the little scamp walked. It was the mistrustful half-run of the alley and the gutter. He saw so much of himself, and grinned halfheartedly.   
  
The castle had a plethora of rooms that the three had never bothered to use. One such of these was now opened. A dusty bed was against one wall, and a thick rug covered most of the stone floor. There was a wardrobe that was filled with moths and who knew what against the other wall. A door led to the adjacent bathroom. Pixel pointed this out.   
  
"You can wash up in there. The water is always warm, and the towels never get sopping. If you'd like, Score and I can leave you now, so you can get used to things." He paused. "That is, of course, if you want to stay."   
  
A moment of consideration. A small nod. "Not forever, just for the night," came the concession. Pixel smiled.   
  
"Whatever you like. Now, before we leave, you do have to do one thing for us." The child froze and glanced up in fear. "Just tell us your name, so we have something to call you, please." There was visible relaxation.   
  
"My runner, he calls me Crow. You can call me Crow too."   
  
"Whatever you like." Pixel smiled. "Thank you for coming to visit us Crow, I hope you enjoy it here. If you'd like to see either of us, we'll be downstairs. We'll leave now." He and Score backed out of the door and shut it quietly.   
  
"Crow?" Pixel asked Score when they were alone. Score shrugged again.   
  
"Street names are like that. He kind of looked like a ragged bird. I wonder what a runner is though." Score jumped down the stairs two at a time.   
  
"Are you sure it's a he?" Pixel asked carefully. "I didn't see anything that reminded me of either gender."   
  
Score laughed. "Didn't you see what a tough little kid Crow is? Definitely just like me. What a stud."   
  
Pixel decided to keep his mouth shut. Score would figure it out for himself sooner or later. They reached the common room and Pixel took a mirror down off the wall. "We ought to keep an eye on Crow, you know." He said to Score as he muttered a scrying spell. The mirror clouded and then cleared to reveal their tiny guest rummaging through the wardrobe, then heading to the bathroom. Pixel broke the spell. "No need to be peeping Toms" he said, half to himself, changing his mind, before wandering into the kitchen to fix a snack. Score sat down on the sofa. It was a nice one that he'd made out of one of Garonath's hard chairs. He thought about Helaine almost automatically. She had the uncanny knack of creeping in whenever his brain was not occupied. This time, however, he did not push her out of his mind. There she was, alternately beautiful and bossy, clever and stubborn. So I admire her, Score thought to himself. What's wrong with that? She's a good friend, and it's okay to miss her a little. Score stretched out   
on the couch and closed his eyes. She was probably missing him and Pixel horribly right at this very minute.   
  
  
  
  
  
Helaine took another long pull of the spicy drink the goblins poured out and belched jubilantly before resuming singing off-color songs with her friends. Goblins threw amazing parties. As they launched into another chorus, Helaine took the opportunity to sample some of the tantalizing roast meat. A slightly tipsy goblin, who had obviously been quaffing some of the heavier alcoholic brew, got up to sing the next verse.   
  
  
"When I was a half baked laddie  
  
I found me a lovely lass  
  
Her eyes are just like sapphires  
  
But you should see her ass!"  
  
  
The whole crowd repeated his last line with a laugh and began again with the chorus as an old female goblin, presumably the singers wife, smacked him hard across the rump with a smile. Helaine looked away uncomfortably.   
  
She found herself face to face with another smiling female goblin. "Are you really Helaine like they say?" She asked. Helaine sighed. She'd been getting questions like this all night.   
  
"Yes, I am. And yes, I killed the Wyrm, and yes, I did know Gunther. Anything else you'd like to ask?" Helaine took another swig of her drink.   
  
"Where are Score and Pixel?" the gobliness asked.   
  
"What?" Helaine nearly spit out the contents of her mouth. No one had yet asked about them, let alone known their names.   
  
"That is what they are called, aye?"   
  
"Yes." Helaine sat her mug down firmly and frowned.   
  
"Are they dead? I am sorry. My husbands are dead as well." Helaine looked at her companion, startled.   
  
"What? No no no... Score and Pixel are not my husbands. And they are very much so alive. Just not here."   
  
"They did not want to see their goblin friends?"   
  
"No, it's not that. I just wanted to come alone." Helaine bit her lip. The gobliness raised a crooked eyebrow.   
  
"Both my husbands were killed in a mining accident. It is an ache, after you lose the ones you love."  
  
"I'm sorry." Helaine said, then asked, "Goblins are not monogamous?"   
  
" 'To say that you can love one person all your life is just like saying that one candle will continue to burn as long as you live.' That's Tolstoy." The gobliness grinned toothily.  
  
"Tolstoy?" Helaine wondered blankly.   
  
"He is a great author from one of the rim worlds. I read two books by him. You know about wormholes?" Helaine shook her head. "They are like little Portals between worlds, they come randomly and deposit things or take things. When you cannot find something, we say the wormhole took it. We get many things from a rim world in one of our caves. Many socks. But sometimes books or papers or keys."  
  
"Oh" said Helaine. "And you found Tolstoy in the cave?"   
  
"Aye, he is quite the brilliant one." The gobliness paused, and then extended a hand. "I am Veda," she introduced herself, "And if you are seeing Borla, know that she is my child."  
  
Helaine smiled. "I'll be sure to remember that." Smiling, Veda excused herself, leaving Helaine alone with her drink and a few thoughts about Tolstoy.   
  
...like saying that one candle will continue to burn as long as you live.   
  
  
  
  
*****  
This chapter just sort of wrote itself, so don't sue me if you've got a problem. As to the question posed by a certain reviewer, I think we can all agree that Score and Pixel, especially Score, have a lousy streak of getting into trouble...just wait until Helaine comes home.   
Crow is VERY vaguely based on a souless little girl I briefly met at a soup kitchen in the basement of the 1st Methodist Church in San Francisco's Theater District when I was last there, at least I copied many of the mannerisms. So don't tell me homeless kids don't just waltz into strangers' homes. You'd be surprised what they do.   
The next chapter may take a while, my apologies, but I've a headache's worth of tests and projects coming up and I don't know how much brain power will be left for Diadem. We shall see.   
To my reviewers: Thank you, you've kept me alive, I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as I do.   
Aroo! 


	8. Crow

Score heard the patter of small feet down the staircase and roused himself from his nap on the couch. He'd been having an incredible dream, about... well, he couldn't remember exactly what it was about. He rolled off onto the floor and banged his head. A muttered expletive cleared that matter up and he was on his feet and ready to face the tough little boy he and Pixel had temporarily adopted.   
  
Crow peeked around the banister of the stairs before coming out fully into the light. "I'm thirsty," she complained.   
  
She?  
  
Score groaned. Not another roughshod tomboy. The first had damaged his ego beyond recovery, and now this. But there Crow stood, with deep amber skin rubbed free of dirt and wet indigo hair clinging to the sides of her thin face. With the dingy urban life washed from her body, Crow looked positively darling, like somebody's niece from out of town.   
  
"I'll get you something to drink. What would you like?" Score asked, sauntering into the kitchen. Crow trailed behind him, still creeping, hiding from the danger that lurked in every corner of her world.  
  
"Spetzi water," she demanded, clambering up onto her chair from before. Score hadn't the faintest as to what she was talking about, handing her a glass of his favorite cola instead. Crow guzzled it, burped, and slammed the glass down onto the table. "More" was the command. Score glared at her.   
  
"Aren't we little Miss Special. How about some manners?" He took the glass away.   
  
Crow looked sulky. "Please?" She said finally. Score smiled.   
  
"Much better." He refilled the glass with a mental tug and set it down before her. Crow's eyes were wide.   
  
"How did you...?" She trailed off, looking down into the glass and then back up at Score. She sniffed the cola hesitantly and pushed it away. "I dun want it anymore." She declared suspiciously.   
  
Score rolled his eyes. "It's the same stuff. I just made more. Look." Score snatched the unwanted glass and drank half of it. He sat it back down again in front of his small charge and put his hands on his hips. "It's fine."   
  
Crow ignored the beverage and stared up at Score instead. "Where am I?" She asked, as if for the first time wondering that she might not be on her old world. Score hesitated. There were two channels of diplomacy he could take. Pixel would probably know which one was correct, but he was nowhere to be found.   
  
"Screw diplomacy," he muttered as he grabbed the bull by the horns. "See, Crow, Pixel and I are magicians, and we live on a planet called Dondar. We brought you here with our magic because we wanted to help you out. You aren't on Myrd any longer. If you'd like to go back, then we can take care of that. But we don't want to hurt you and we'd like to take care of you. I filled the glass by magic." Finished, Score exhaled and leaned back against the wall.   
  
"You're lying. Magic is a trick. It ent real."  
  
"Not lying. That's what I first thought when I found out it existed. I... I used to live in the streets too."  
  
"You from Myrd?" A glimmer of curiosity.  
  
"No. Earth. Magic freed me from the streets."   
  
"Teach me." Crow demanded. Score jumped slightly.   
  
"What?"   
  
"Teach me." She repeated, sliding off her chair and stalking towards him. "Maybe I will stay here. A little. And when I learn what you know, I will go home, and get off the street, and rescue Sammi, and-" She stopped.   
  
"Who's Sammi?" Score asked innocently.  
  
"Nobody. I'm lying." Crow narrowed her eyes to little slits and hid behind them. Score backed off from the topic.   
  
"Well, maybe I'll teach you a little magic. But it takes a great deal of responsibility. You seem young..." He trailed off.   
  
"Am not." Crow protested, "Got lots of responsibility. My runner, he put me in charge of the other girls cuz he knowed I was best at it."   
  
"Well I don't know your runner. So how do I know you're not lying?" Score resisted the urge to smile. The best way to deal with a kid was to make them feel important. He remembered that from his own days of being manipulated.   
  
"I'll prove it to you. I'll work." Crow flexed her small fingers. "I do good work with hands."  
  
"Okay, okay," Score pretended to relent. "I'll teach you a little magic everyday, but only if you help Pixel in the garden, and only if you're good, and..." he added with significance, "I'd rather you didn't carry your knife around. You might hurt yourself if you fall down."   
  
Crow looked down and slowly slid her knife out of a pocket somewhere. She stared at it. "I won't hurt myself," she said huffily, "I been using blades since real small. Really." She looked up. Score stared adamantly. "Okay. I hide it in my room for you. That good?"   
  
Score beamed. "Perfectly. I'll wait here." He smiled happily to himself as he watched Crow bound up the stairs. Things were starting to be interesting at last. Maybe if he told Helaine, she'd come home.   
  
  
  
  
Gravel beds were the perfect comfort for a goblin. Helaine squirmed uncomfortably in hers. Little pebbles kept falling down her tunic or creeping up the ankles of her pants and causing trouble. She sighed and rolled over again. Dark in the goblin caves was true dark. Not even a hint of light illuminated her chamber. Helaine was finding her reunion with the goblins less than what she expected. The food and the atmosphere were similar, but she missed Gunther, and his unusual wisdom. It made her feel old.   
  
I'd better get used to it. She thought, almost angrily. Score and Pixel and I will live for years and years and have to watch everyone die. Helaine shifted her head and a river of pebbles streamed down past her ear to collect on the inside of her shirt collar. The centaurs will die. The unicorns will die. My family will die.   
  
My family will die.   
  
Helaine stopped and choked on her own thoughts. Her father, whom she had furiously abandoned five years ago, would someday die. And she would never see him again. A hot wetness sprang to her eyes.   
  
"I am not the crying type!" She whimpered fiercely as a tear joined the rocks that were her pillow. It was too late. She made up her mind to visit Ordin the very next morning. She would have to get Shanara to come with her to Treen for Portal purposes, but Helaine was sure she could convince the kind sorceress to accompany her. She had to see her father, even if it was only briefly. She did love him, even if he wasn't her biological parent.   
  
A tingling sensation on her thumb startled her. She created a small globe of dim blue light and after adjusting to the sudden change in darkness, looked at her hand.   
  
The small white monkey ring was animated again, entwining itself around her other fingers and making a diminutive rumbling sound, like a cat's purr. Helaine smiled and lifted up her palm to her face.   
  
"It's nice to be loved," she whispered quietly at it, smiling in the faint glow of the night. She extinguished the globe and smiled as she thought about the boys.   
  
  
*****  
I know I know it's on the short side but it has been hard finding time to write, lately.   
Mr. Peter Kim: I completely agree with you in that Score and Pixel are being rather moronic but I take no responsibility for their actions! And I'm NOT going to tell you if Crow will grow up and be a baddie or a goodie or simply go home, first because I really don't know at this point, she's her own person, and second because that would ruin the whole point of writing if I'm going to give away part of the plot in a silly author's note! I'm glad you're taking an interest in my story, but please don't get frusterated if I can't let you in on some of the inner workings :) I'm sure you understand.   
To the rest of you: Keep reading, keep up with your own writing, and FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T PUT THE PORCUPINE IN THE DISHWASHER!!!!  
NOOOO!!!!  
  
Aroo! 


	9. Dorian

A hasty farewell to the goblins, promising she'd be back again, this time in their lifetimes, and Helaine was once more trekking up to the mountain retreat of Shanara. Not finding her hostess in the kitchen or main room downstairs, Helaine thudded up the stairs in search of the sorceress. But it was Dorian she found first.   
  
"Erm..." Helaine stuttered clumsily, her tongue suddenly impossible to control.   
  
"Back so soon?" He inquired. His teeth were very white. Helaine managed a watery smile. Damn me, she thought furiously, I can't fall to pieces every time I get looked at.   
  
"I...I need to get to one of the Rim Worlds. I was looking for Shanara. I need someone to open a portal for me to come back."   
  
"She thought you weren't going to be around for another three days or so. She's visiting a centaur herd on the far side of the planet right now."  
  
"Oh." Helaine bit her lip, thinking.   
  
"But I can help you. After all, I'm a magic-user too." Dorian raised one eyebrow subtly. Helaine struggled not to notice.   
  
"Thank you. Do you mind if we go soon? I'm in something of a hurry." She started to picture their destination in her head. Treen, the land of the Beastials.   
  
"No need to go there." Dorian broke into her thoughts. Helaine stared blankly, confused. "Ekeln-An will do just fine. It is similar to Treen, but much more friendly, I find." Dorian smiled again.  
  
"Whatever you think is best," Helaine said weakly as he opened a Portal into the great beyond.   
  
  
  
  
Pixel was transplanting a bush to a sunnier patch of the garden when he was suddenly aware of Crow, crouching next to him. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked, one finger up her nose.   
  
"Gardening," Pixel replied, swiping at her hand, "and don't be disgusting." The girl scowled and rubbed her hands into her brown smock. She watched Pixel in silence for another twenty seconds before interrupting him again.   
  
"Why're you movin' that plant?" She asked, still twisting her hands in her clothes. Her small pug nose was dripping again, and she twitched it furiously. Pixel could see she was trying to avoid rooting around in it again.   
  
"Have a blow," Pixel commanded, literally pulling a handkerchief out of nowhere. Crow accepted and rubbed the cloth roughly across her face. She apparently had no experience blowing her nose, concluded Pixel as he answered her question. "The shrub needs to be transplanted because it isn't getting enough sunlight here under this tree." Crow stopped wiping her nose and handed Pixel his handkerchief back.   
  
"He dunt need sun." Crow stroked one of the leaves of the bush. "Not so much water. His roots is rotting 'cause they're too wet."   
  
Pixel stared at the bright amber hands as they continued to brush over the leaves. "How do you know that?" He demanded. Startled, Crow looked up.   
  
"'Cause, he says so!" She frowned. "Ent you listening?" Her lower lip protruded ever so slightly, as though she was pouting.   
  
"Listening to what?" Pixel thought slowly. Crow did have some potential for magic, after all. Maybe she had some sort of affinity for hearing things.   
  
"The plant! Says you're nice 'nuff, but not real smart." An impish look spread across her face in an almost-smile. Pixel put his hands on his hips indignantly.   
  
"Oh really? Well what else does 'he' say about me?" Out of the corner of his eye, Pixel saw Score start across the courtyard towards the garden.   
  
Crow reached her hand through the foliage and cocked her head. "He says I'm a good lis'ner, an' y'oughta pay attention to me." She removed her small fingers from the plant and twisted her mouth. "T'other man, um, t'one with the funny white skin," "Score," Pixel interjected. "Yeah, Scur. He says I gots t'help you, else he ent gonna teach me magic."   
  
Pixel froze. Score was planning on teaching the stray magic? He shot out a link to Score, still on his way over. *You can't teach Crow magic.* He snapped angrily.   
  
*Ouch, not so harsh* Score returned, in response to Pixel's irate thoughts. *And why not?*   
  
*How many crazy magic-users have we encountered? How are we supposed to keep Crow from becoming just like one of them?* Pixel couldn't believe Score's stupidity. *She was doing just fine on Jewel. That makes her just as strong as any of us.*  
  
*And what were you going to do? Lie to her?* Score shot back angrily. He was only a couple of feet away now, and Pixel could see an irritated wrinkle on his forehead.   
  
*Just because we're taking care of her doesn't mean we have to let her in on everything we do!* Pixel pleaded. *Score, we can't raise another power-starved magician bent on killing us.*  
  
*I certainly never intended to do that* Score glared at Pixel and then smiled at Crow, who was watching the two boys suspiciously. "You have leaves in your hair." Score said affectionately, reaching to brush them off the girl's indigo hair. Crow cringed and closed her eyes. Score withdrew his hand immediately. "What's the matter?" He asked, ignoring Pixel's frown.   
  
"Dunt touch me." Crow said with a shudder. As the boys watched, the lowest-hanging branches of the tree bent down and shielded her.   
  
"Whatever you want." Score said, trying to sound nonchalant. It troubled him. Crow grasped one of the branches firmly and bunched her eyebrows together. She's afraid, Score thought suddenly. He forced down a sickly feeling that accompanied thoughts of what he had seen other slum kids doing for money. None of them had wanted to be touched either. Score looked up at Pixel. The other boy's eyes were wide with concern, and the previous argument was forgotten.   
  
"Why don't we go inside," Pixel suggested, glancing down at the quivering girl. She didn't respond, but followed them slowly to the castle.   
  
  
  
The world of Ekeln-An was nauseating to Helaine. Dorian had insisted on waiting in a room in an inn for her, and the city streets were muddy and filled with waste. The sky was in a perpetual state of wetness. It spat globs of rain at her as she trudged down another refuse-filled lane. The residents were strange, too. They filled the streets with their stank, moldy presence, and not a single one of them seemed to have bathed in the last century. Even worse, the skin of these people appeared to be rotting away, a sickly green color, sagging and drooping. It strongly reminded Helaine of her and Score's encounter with the corpse of the slain hero, Cormac the Red-Handed. She took to focusing her eyes on the back of Dorian's head. Everything else turned her stomach.   
  
"We are almost there." He turned to tell her with another of his incredible smiles. "The inn I know is not far." Helaine tried to be happy. The inside of the building was probably just as wretched as the rest of the world. Chin up Helaine, she told herself repeatedly. You're going to see your father.   
  
Dorian had spoken the truth, because it was not too much longer before he entered a shadowy building that boasted being "The Black Boar". It smelled like vomit and urine. Helaine resisted the urge to join the fellow in the corner who was violently rejecting the contents of his stomach. Dorian found a stout, hook-nosed man, and spoke to him in a grating language. The man handed him a key, and Helaine again followed Dorian, this time up a dark stairwell. He stopped in front of a dilapidated door, and unlocked it to reveal the room.   
  
Helaine's jaw dropped. Beyond the door were chambers more likely to entertain a king, and certainly not to be found in a run down dive like The Black Boar. The floor was carpeted in a rich purple and an enormous gilded bed dominated the spacious room.   
  
"This shouldn't be here!" Helaine protested, even as she stepped through the door to gaze at the carefully painted ceiling. "Its too...too nice!"   
  
Dorian seemed to take pleasure in her amusement. "Enkeln-An is full of surprises, Helaine." A shiver ran through her spine when he said her name. Helaine bit her lip and tried to focus.   
  
"Where will you make the Portal?" She asked softly, trying to remain absorbed in the fabulous mural on the wall, instead of the overtly sexual presence so close to her.  
  
"Here is fine." He said with a smile. "No need to go outside in the squalor. What is your destination?"   
  
Helaine stared at the well-chiseled face. It was very nice. She thought quickly of Shanara. Dorian was living with the sorceress. He was not for her. "Ordin." She said weakly, cursing herself. What was the matter with her?  
  
  
  
*****  
The Author is heartily ashamed of not updating.   
Sorry. 


	10. Ordin

From one of the dusty innumerable storage closets around the castle, Pixel produced a large pad of paper and paints. Humming quietly, he began working in the far corner of the common room.   
  
He still wasn't sure how he felt about Score teaching Crow magic. What did he - or any of them for that matter - know about raising a child? Especially Score. It had been tempting not to throw in the matter of Score's precarious youth in his face during their spat.   
  
Yet somehow it was comforting to Pixel to know that this child of incredible power was in their hands. Who knew what evil personage would have found the girl if they hadn't first? At least, having her here, she was somewhat more predictable and under control.   
  
Pixel set up a water-repelling spell around the area. The paints were water-based, so he figured it ought to do the trick. Crow's rapport with the tree and shrub in the garden were not quite like anything he'd seen before. He knew there was far more to magic then he could ever fathom, but it was curious. Not even in the trio's dealings with Balga, the harpy queen of Chandar in the previous year, had yielded anyone - or anything - with power of that kind or magnitude.  
  
Assembling the large easel he'd found was slightly more difficult than he'd imagined, and his thoughts were temporarily interrupted as he wrestled with the oak beast. When he finally got it to stand still, he mounted the paper upon it and looked about him for the paints he'd mislaid. The most peculiar thing, he finally decided, was Crow's apparent lack of knowledge of magic, but her relative ease with talking shrubbery.   
  
There. He was done. All he needed now was to find Crow. He turned around and nearly tripped over the enigmatic child, who was at his side as effectively as if he'd summoned her there. "P-p-pidgel?" She mangled his name with a furrowed brow, as though it took some effort to get the words out.   
  
"Pixel" he corrected with a smile. He wondered what life would be like if he had a younger sister. For all he knew, he did have a little sister now. It was five years since he'd left Calomir, and his parents weren't all that old. Pixel made a face and refused to think about his parents doing THAT. Nasty.   
  
"Pithel" she repeated carefully. He grinned. "Wazzat?" She asked, her attention momentarily distracted by the easel. Pixel let his mouth twist upwards again.   
  
"It's something for you." He said. "Do you like to paint?" Crow looked at him blankly. He unscrewed a little paint from a container and splashed it on the paper with the singular brush he'd found. "You know, draw pictures?" He sketched out a tree. It wasn't very good, and he had the misfortune of picking black. There were a variety of different colored trees on Dondar, but none of them were black. His tree looked like an odd chocolate rooster wearing pantyhose on its head. Or at least that was the image that popped into his mind. What...?  
  
*Sorry, Pix, couldn't resist* Score. Oh. *But that's really what it looks like!*   
  
*Thank you Score.* Pixel said with a huff. *I will let you know when I'm looking for an art critic* He returned his attention to Crow. "Do you see what I mean?" He asked. She nodded, and he handed her the brush. "Go ahead then, feel free. I'll be around if you need anything." The look on Crow's face, a cross of indescribable happiness and confusion was enough to put Pixel on a happy buzz for the rest of the day.   
  
  
  
  
Cloudy, but on the whole, rather pleasant, was how Helaine found Ordin. She recognized the spot the Portal had dumped her almost immediately. She was less than a mile from her castle home. The river that divided her father's kingdom from the lands of Lord Peverel was somewhere close on her right. Helaine smiled as she thought of her near-miss at becoming Mrs. Dathan Peverel. She strode purposefully in the direction of the castle, wondering what it would have been like, to be married. Probably boring, she mused.   
  
Helaine encountered no other travelers as she made her way towards the keep. It was near twilight on her home world, and the clouds in the east were illuminated a soft shade of pink. Funny. She'd never noticed the sunsets on Ordin before. It seemed like hardly any time at all before she reached the castle. Then she stopped.   
  
She hadn't actually thought of a plan for getting in before. In fact, she hadn't really thought of anything except seeing her family. Helaine cursed softly. Now what? There were always guards posted at the entrances, that much she knew. She cogitated on the matter for another twenty seconds and gave up. "Ah, hell." She muttered as she emerged from the forest and approached the giant gate. "What's the worst that can happen?"  
  
  
  
"I'm telling you, I just have to see his Lordship." Helaine was becoming frustrated. Obviously the talent pool of guards had dried up immensely since she had left. These fellows were certified morons.   
  
"And I'm telling you," the young man argued back ostensibly, "that you can't. Lord Votrin doesn't just invite vagrant gypsy women into his chambers. Go stay in the village for the night, and maybe he'll see you in the morning. Maybe. Now get out." He threatened her menacingly with his pike. Helaine's anger swelled up inside her. She'd forgotten how positively primitive men were. She considered teaching him a lesson with her sword, but figured it was not the most diplomatic thing for a returning daughter to do on her first visit home. She opened her mouth to ask yet again to be let in when another voice cut her off.   
  
"Helaine?" She peered around the guard's shoulder to see who was talking. Her eyes expanded in joyous recognition and she bolted past the men clad in her father's colors, vaguely hearing their shouts for her to halt.   
  
"Borigen!" She cried happily, stopping just short of the well-grayed old man.   
  
"I thought that was you. Can't mistake that tone of voice of yours when you're peeved." He paused, worn eyes dancing. Suddenly he threw open his arms. "Come 'ere, girl." Helaine was squeezed in his fierce grasp and she kissed him on his bristly cheeks. Finally he let go of her, and Helaine turned to see the pure mystification written on the guards' faces. "Where have you been these long years, my Renald?" he asked, using her pseudo male name. Helaine smiled.   
  
"Oh, you have no idea, Borigen. Traveling. Everything. But it's good to be back." She beamed as he led her down a stone corridor.   
  
"Your father will be quite pleased to see you, Helaine. You haven't any idea how much he mourned your leave. He was certain those raiding Border Lords had made off with you, though he never received a ransom note." The loyal old soldier paused. "Why did you run away?"   
  
Helaine leveled her gaze. "Two words: Dathan Peverel." She shuddered involuntarily. Borigen laughed.   
  
"You'll be pleased to know then, my lady, that young Peverel has married Lady Amana of the House of Wrane. He is no longer on the market." Borigen reached out and touched the hilt of her sword as they walked. "Do you still practice?" he inquired softly. She'd been his best student, she knew.   
  
"Nearly every morning." She replied, as Borigen knocked on the large wooden door that led to her father's main hall and then opened it.   
  
Helaine walked in with her head held high. She saw a few of her father's councilmen mulling about from the corner of her eye, but her real interest was the person seated on the throne. He was still tall, but some of the muscle had receded into his body, and his hair was a mottled mixture of gray and black. His eyes were as dark as ever. He stared, speechless, as Helaine gracefully bowed the appropriate distance away from him.   
  
"Father." She said quietly, looking him directly in the haunted ebony expanse of his eyes.   
  
"Helaine, is that you?" The man eased off his royal seat. He took a step of the dais and peered at the figure before him. "My daughter?"  
  
"Yes." There was no need to say anything more.   
  
"Helaine." And in an instant the royal vestige was discarded as he wrapped his arms around the young woman and laughed.   
  
  
  
*****  
Erm.... what's to say? Keep reading...  
  
--Aroo 


	11. Votrins

Sweat, rotting food, musky incense. Helaine had entirely forgotten the stench of the castle and its inhabitants, including her father. Her home on Dondar was under air cleansing spells and always smelled, as Score put it, "Downy Fresh", which she didn't understand.   
  
One did not remain a Lord on Dondar for long by being famous for emotional outbursts, so in hardly any time at all Lord Votrin was composed and eyeing his daughter regally. "You continue to wear the clothes of a boy." He remarked tightly, as though it was an everyday point of contention.   
  
Helaine refrained from saying anything. Seeing her father, old, had unleashed too many feelings for her to keep track of. She couldn't risk opening her mouth and letting the wrong one escape.   
  
"Where have you been?" Her father broke into words again, hardly able to contain his burning questions in his mind. "We searched for you everywhere, we sent letters to all the neighboring lands, we questioned captured Borderland soldiers. There was no trace of you. It was like you vanished into the realm of the Fair Folk." He nearly choked on the last words. "Where were you?" Lord Votrin repeated, toying with the gold chain that fastened his cloak.   
  
"Dondar, among other places." Helaine said, restraining the small smile that threatened to steal her face. Lord Votrin withdrew slightly.   
  
"Where on God's world is that?"   
  
"It's not father. It's not on this world at all." Helaine shook away her father's confusion. "Does it matter? I'm home now. I had to come see you again."   
  
Lord Votrin hunched his shoulders together. "Of course, Helaine. I'm thrilled to see you." He smiled briefly, but tiredly. "Come with me. There is someone I'd like you to meet."   
  
Helaine bared her teeth slightly. "Father, I'm no longer yours to sell. I'm not interested in any more Peverels."   
  
A blank stare. Lord Votrin shook his head. "It is nothing like that Helaine." He extended a hand and Helaine accepted it, exactly as she was bred to do. Together, they paced gracefully out of the room and down the long hallway to a room Helaine vaguely remembered.   
  
"The nursery?" She asked, baffled. Her father gently swung the door open. The room was softly lit by a simpering fire, and a figure occupied the rocking chair that faced away from the door.   
  
"Lady Brielle." The figure in the chair rose and turned in a half curtsy. She looked up and Helaine found herself staring into the intense blue eyes of a woman probably not even six years older than herself. Lord Votrin dropped Helaine's hand and reached for the other. "Lady Brielle, this is my daughter Helaine, whom I have oft spoke of." Brielle's eyes brightened and she smiled warmly. "Helaine, Lady Brielle Terrano Votrin, my wife of four years."   
  
Helaine stared rather ungraciously. Wife?   
  
Lady Brielle smoothed over the silence courteously. "I've heard ever so much about you Helaine, though I was quite under the impression that you were... well, carried off or some such." The woman had a smattering of freckles across her pale cheeks and fine red gold hair. She was quite pretty, but all Helaine saw was a step-mother.   
  
"And this is our son, Garon." Only after her father mentioned it did Helaine see the small form clinging behind his mother's skirts. With a little coaxing the little boy peeked out and looked apprehensively at his half-sister. Helaine returned the gaze.   
  
"I understand this might be...upsetting to you Helaine...but for Erlkonig's sake! My only daughter gone and the Border Lords mobilizing? I had to ensure lineage for our lands." Lord Votrin took a deep breath.  
  
"I understand Father. I did not even expect to return. You did what was necessary." Helaine looked down. "I just didn't think... I don't know. I've been gone five years but it seems... so much shorter." Helaine pondered briefly how to explain her rather unique situation to her father. Score had done such a good job with Bad Tony. What exactly had he said?   
  
"Perhaps," interjected Lady Brielle, "it would be more comfortable if I put Garon to bed and we discussed this elsewhere?" Helaine smiled, grateful for the time to think.   
  
  
  
It was rare that the Triad reborn ate the evening meal together. Nobody ever seemed to eat on the same schedule, each with their own projects or interests to take care of. But tonight, Score, Pixel, and Crow sat at the grand kitchen table to consume a feast of hamburgers, french fries, and cola, all provided, of course, by Score. Crow ate messily with her fingers, refusing to touch the lettuce on her burger until Pixel glared at her.   
  
After dinner, Crow severely ordered the boys to stay seated, and raced away. She returned, arms full of the papers she'd covered in paint. With deliberate mannerisms she laid out her masterpieces on the table. "Dis'n a picture of my street." Crude drawings of row houses in dark browns and grays snarled back at Score. "And dis'n t'park." Verdant greens and blues in living shapes twisted around the paper.   
  
The next drawing was a picture of a face. It had a dark bushy beard and angry red eyes. "Who's that?" Score inquired quietly.   
  
"My runner" Crow whispered, quickly shuffling through to the next page. "Dis'n me n' Sammi. We're in t'park." Two sketchily-drawn girls holding hands were surrounded by a heart shape of coiling vines.   
  
"Who's Sammi?" Score asked for the second time since he'd known Crow. This time she responded.   
  
"Sammi n' me were always put together cuz she'd get scared n' sometimes she tried to run away but she was my best friend." Crow paused. "I miss Sammi."   
  
Score's mouth twisted in a half smile. Understated yearning was a feeling they had in common.   
  
  
  
The great room was smoky and deliciously filled with home. Every stone in the wall, every tapestry, and every piece of worn furniture evoked a forgotten memory. Helaine sat in her chair, arms wrapped around her knees, and started from the beginning.   
  
She began with her father's announcement of the wedding, which induced a trivial laugh from Brielle. "My father was after me to consider Dathan as a suitor, but he was too young and wasn't interested in an old maid like myself." She smiled knowingly at Helaine. "He was a fop, wasn't he?" Helaine wondered for a minute just how many years there were between herself and her father's wife, before continuing with her story. The mention of Rahn, the leopard-woman Beastial, elicited a slight response from her father, but it wasn't until Helaine told of her first Portal that he stopped her.  
  
"I'm sorry, Helaine, but you aren't making any sense." Helaine looked hard at his face. It was worn and beaten, like and old rug that has suffered the foyer far too long. She sighed and decided to take the quick and easy path. Storytelling was going nowhere. Knowing the weakness of her magic on the Rim World, she clutched the sapphire in her pocket and bit her lip.   
  
A woven blanket from across the room glided over to her and tucked itself in around her. The other two goggled in amazement. "Is that what you've learned in five years?" Lord Votrin asked, seeming a trifle annoyed. "Cheap charlatan tricks?"  
  
Helaine tossed her head. "It isn't a trick father. Watch." This time finding her onyx in her pocket, which she would normally have used for transforming herself, she instead used it to project the image of her father on her own face.   
  
Horror, puzzlement, and complete awe played across Lord Votrin's face. "Magic, father." Helaine explained, resuming her normal appearance. "I'm a magic-user." She said flatly. "I live on another world with unicorns and dragons and other magicians. That's where I've been." A frown. "And you thought I was surprised."   
  
  
  
  
*****  
Well, that's the end of my writing stint for awhile. Not to say that I'm done with the story, its just that after all this creative juice has been unleashed, I need some recuperation time. Plus, my boyfriend is coming home Friday after being gone for what feels like forever, so I won't have so much time anymore :)   
Sorry it's taken so long. I went to the beach for two weeks and then to Steuben County, New York, to help repair some homes. Yeah, I've been busy :)  
In other news, I posted another poem... durr... and I'm working on one of my silly original stories.   
Anyway, love to everyone, enjoy your summer, I'll write another chapter soon.   
  
Aroo! 


	12. Gone

Shanara contacted Pixel early the next morning, using his breakfast tea as a convenient receiving pool. With Helaine and her agate around, communication had never been a problem, but in her absence Shanara needed to find another method.   
  
"They're gone," Pixel blinked. What was Shanara doing in his teacup? "They left before I got up, I don't know where they've gone!" Her voice was panicky and eyes, though mottled by tea, were wide and frightened.   
  
"Calm down, WHO is gone?" Pixel felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. Why did he bother asking if he already knew the answer?  
  
"Helaine and Dorian! They're gone, and I can't find them in my scrying pool...I just don't know what-"   
  
"Shanara, stop," Pixel cut in. "It'll be okay. Score and I will come there and straighten things out. Just...wait a few minutes." Pixel dumped his tea down the drain, effectively ending the conversation. Who was Dorian? Pixel wasn't too worried, Helaine could take care of herself, after all, she was probably running around with the centaurs, who had some sort of magical field... or something...  
  
Score's room was always an adventure to walk into. The finicky Earth boy could never make up his mind about what he liked best. Posters of posing, scantily clothed elves would sometimes be replaced by a wallpaper of the strange pieces of paper that made up Earth money. The rug in the middle of the floor changed colors and textures. The room was never the same twice in a row.   
  
Today, Pixel opened the door and tripped over a giant pickle. He crashed to the floor and glared at the offending vegetable. The spacious area was a mini-Zarathan, taking inspiration from Score's mind. With the master asleep, the mischievous room was creating the images that lurked in Score's subconscious. Helaine had once related a story of coming in when Score was asleep and being knocked over by a fluffy bunny bodyguard.   
  
Pickles aside, there was work to be done. Pixel shook Score, and when that failed, created a small rainstorm above his head. "Wha-" Score jumped up, startled. The room flashed green and the pickle disappeared. A hazy soft orange blush crept up the walls, and climbing vines sprouted out of his shelves. 'Good morning!' the room was telling him.   
  
"Wake up Score. Shanara is going crazy and she wants us to come over. I'm going to go wake up Crow." Pixel turned to stride out of the room, ignoring Score's pleads to be able to sleep just a few more minutes. It was enough to have one child in the castle, but two?  
  
Pixel knocked loudly at Crow's room, then cracked the door open when he received no answer. It was dark. He summoned a light to bob about after him, and plunged into the darkness. She was sleeping, angelic, despite her snotty, running nose, and her probably dirty thumb in her mouth. Pixel reached to shake the Sleeping Beauty when she snapped awake by her own accord. Her little eyes ballooned and she shrank back from Pixel's outstretched hand. A tiny whimper escaped, but she was otherwise silent. Pixel took a large step back from her bed, upset. Score had hinted at Crow's former occupation, but Pixel had dismissed it as the Earth boy overreacting as usual.   
  
"Um. We're going to visit Shan-someone today. Get dressed and come downstairs, please." Pixel exited faster than Score ate a burger, disturbed and sickened.   
  
Score himself was, amazingly, dressed and downstairs. The fact that he was eating was of little surprise to Pixel. Score had grown a remarkable amount, finally filling out his meager street-rat form with the help of time, love, and an inordinate amount of food.   
  
"So what exactly is going on?" Score asked, his face unshaven and mouth full of scrambled eggs. Pixel helped himself to the other half of Score's cream cheese bagel. "Hey! I wanted that!" Score yelped, snatching unsuccessfully at the purloined food. Pixel took a bite and then related his conversation with Shanara to Score. For a brief instant, worry flashed over Score's face. "Missing?"  
  
"I doubt it's anything to worry about," Pixel interjected, before Score worked himself into a lather. "After all, we'd know if she was in trouble...you did give her the ring, right?"   
  
Score nodded, hardly mollified. Trouble came in all sorts of forms, and the silly white monkey only picked up on Helaine's distress, not her actual danger. "Who's this Dorian fellow?" he finally asked Pixel.   
  
"I'm not really sure. Somebody staying with Shanara, I gather. I bet he and Helaine just went out somewhere together or something." Pixel shrugged and turned to greet Crow, who had just wandered into the kitchen. Score mulled over Pixel's words, his mind suddenly filled with pictures of Helaine being kidnapped, or seduced, or brainwashed by this obviously dangerous stranger. A new sense of urgency swallowed his heart.   
  
"Let's go. Come on, hurry up and eat." He hastily conjured a box of Munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts for Crow. He hoped she liked jelly-filled, because that was what she was getting. "Eat on the road" he commanded her, shoving the pink and yellow box into her hands. Crow stared at it from out of heavy-lidded eyes as an impatient Score, without bothering to go outside, opened a Portal.   
  
Pixel threw an omniscient look at Score, commanding and stiff-backed. It was entirely out of character for the young man, and if it had been anyone else missing, it would have worried Pixel. However, this was Helaine they were talking about, and any less of a reaction would have worried Pixel even more. He almost smiled as he stepped through the Portal.   
  
  
  
*****  
A/N  
Okay, so it's short. Sorry. But I haven't been home much lately, and when I have been home, I've been doing silly things like analyzing Virginia Woolf (stupid feminist...she obviously knows nothing about women and men).   
Anyway, I love you all, keep writing... Oh, I remember... has anyone ever heard of any fanfic from Peel's book "The Secret of Dragonhome"? It's a fairly good-sized novel that definitely leaves the reader hanging...Email me with any news or whatever at bluelemonrising@yahoo.com  
Aroo! 


	13. Mother

Lady Brielle was embroidering when Helaine descended from her room. The simple four-poster bed and its flea-ridden sheets, though itchy and rough compared to her blankets on Dondar, had done more to calm her nerves than even seeing her father had. The older woman's fine hair was knotted carefully in the intricate tradition of all married woman. Helaine wondered how long it took her to do that every morning.   
  
The royal couple had stayed up late with Helaine the past night, listening attentively to her somewhat edited tales of the Diadem. And while Helaine felt groggy, and Lord Votrin hadn't even yet risen from his bedchamber, the Lady Brielle seemed hardly affected. Garon tottered in, a shade later, and his mother kissed his forehead in a quiet, loving manner. Helaine stared unabashedly, filled with some sort of jealousy. Excusing herself quietly, she wandered around the castle until she found herself in the long portrait hall.   
  
Stern faces of the past, blackened as age ate away at the varnish, gazed impressively with a certain amount of pomp at some unknown heyday. Here was Garmor the Ox and the legendary Hrothlac. Ingrid, mother of the first Lord Votrin, Ketil the Stalwart, stared down her long straight nose as Helaine passed by. Finally, she came to the end of the hall, where hung the most recent portrait.   
  
The woman's clothes were dark, and so were the curtains she sat before, but her eyes were bright and laughing, delighted with her secrets. Her lips were just twitched in an impish smile, and her cheeks were flushed with wonder. Helaine reached out to touch the painting, and fully expected to feel the silk of her gown.   
  
"He captured her fantastically, didn't he?" Helaine whirled around, startled, instinctively reaching for her sword. It was merely her father, rumpled in his nightclothes, with a grim smile dampening his face. "Her eyes were exactly like that. Impulsive. Feral." Helaine looked again at the almond eyes, entranced for a moment.   
  
"Tell me about Mother."  
  
Lord Votrin tore his gaze away from the likeness of his first wife and looked at the daughter of the woman in the painting. The girl - woman - he corrected himself, was tall and more sullen than her mother, and carried the Votrin chin and temper. His head felt heavy, yet he rose to the challenge and obeyed her request.   
  
"She loved...she loved life. She was fifteen when I married her, young and alive and brilliant. She died when you were still nursing. It was the second year of the white death. Votrin Keep had been left well enough alone, but one winter it leapt upon us like a wolf. Many of us took ill. She...she never stopped for a minute, but she bustled around the castle with hot water and herbs of this or that nature. She entered the quarantined rooms and read passages from the Book and prayed with them when the fastidious religious would not. It was a miracle, that she stayed in good health as long as she did." Lord Votrin eyed the lady in the painting again, and stayed quiet so long Helaine almost thought he'd forgotten. "She woke up one morning, and couldn't rise. She was dead within six hours." His voice was flat.   
  
Helaine didn't respond. There was no point in saying that she had absolutely no recollection of the sweet-faced woman in the painting. Instead, she had memories of pretending that her mother had never really died, that she'd been captured by some ogre or dragon, and someday, Helaine and her father would ride out and rescue her, and she would run to Helaine and tell her how much she loved her. She had longed and longed for her mother until the pain subsided to a dull ache, tempering the flavor of her dreams. Helaine thought to relate this to her father, but something stopped her.   
  
"I cannot stay long," she murmured instead. Lord Votrin rounded on his daughter, forgetting those haunting eyes for a moment.   
  
"Why not?" He demanded.  
  
"I have...someone waiting for me to return. I have another life, father. I no longer live here." Helaine hardened. There was nothing for her on Ordin, and there never had been.   
  
"I lost you for five years, and now I must say goodbye? You have grown cruel, daughter. But you are a warrior to the bone, aren't you?" Before Helaine could respond haughtily, he reached out and touched her arm. "In the name of the House of Votrin, I bless you on your journey." Helaine stiffened. It was the traditional farewell to the questing thanes.  
  
"May your house be blessed under God." The reply slipped from her lips. Looking older than she'd yet seen him, her father smiled bitterly.   
  
"I hope that when you find what you're looking for, you return." He paused once more, and then, with a nod to the portrait, added "you know that you are my daughter. You just need to prove to yourself that you are hers, too."  
  
Helaine stared at her father. There was a catch in his voice, but she dared not open it.   
  
  
  
******  
Eh. A shorty, I know. But I also know I won't get the chance to update for awhile... crappy school.   
Anyway, enjoy, and don't ask me why Helaine is so tempermental. She's seventeen and being quite girly. What do you expect?  
Aroo! 


	14. Mardren

Crow was munching noisily on the jelly-filled doughnuts at the table while Score and Pixel consulted with Shanara, making the happy smacking sounds of discovering the sticky red surprise inside each munchkin. Shanara seemed to find it distracting, because she kept looking confusedly at Crow. Score had hastily explained her away as their foster child, of sorts, but even in her distress, Shanara couldn't help but stare at the enigmatic girl.   
  
"So who exactly is Dorian?" Score demanded, angry with Shanara for not keeping better tabs on Helaine. Shanara colored a little.   
  
"We're...he's...we're very good friends." She stammered eventually. Score frowned, but Pixel raised an eyebrow.   
  
"He's your boyfriend." It wasn't a question.  
  
"I...yes. In a way." Shanara twisted her lips, and Pixel smiled.   
  
"Are you kidding?" Blink interjected. "All they do is spend their time making lovey-eyes at each other and forget to feed me! It's disgusting!" The three humans ignored the crabby Blink, and continued on the subject of Helaine.   
  
"They probably just went wandering somewhere Shanara." Pixel hypothesized with a sigh, and was met with a glare from the other two. "You guys are taking this way too seriously. I don't know about Dorian, but Helaine can take care of herself."   
  
Score refused to be placated. He trusted Helaine, but not her companion. "Pixel, will you at least use your ruby and find out where they are?" The other boy nodded, and concentrated. A full minute passed by before he opened his eyes.  
  
"It's no good. They aren't on Rawn, at least not alive."  
  
Score cursed quietly, and a quiet lump surged in his throat. Damn Helaine. If she was going to run off with his heart like that, she ought to be a little more responsible.   
  
"But it's entirely possible that they left Rawn on some sort of excursion. We should be able to find them using your pool, Shanara." Pixel silenced the thumping in Score's head with his irrepressible logic.   
  
"Oh. Why didn't I think of that?" Shanara brightened a little.   
  
"Probably because you were too distraught to think. That's what we're here for." Pixel returned. Shanara seemed satisfied with this, but then a shadow caught her expression.  
  
"This might take awhile. I have to prepare the pool. I...uh...I have been lax in my scrying lately, and the pool has to be respelled every so often."   
  
"How long?" Score demanded.   
  
"A few hours. We have to wait for one of the moons. Seden just set an hour ago, but Nonan should rise a little before noon." Crow looked up at this as Shanara gave a pained expression. "Sorry. I've been...distracted lately."   
  
"Pixel?" Crow asked, still gazing intently at Shanara. "What is a moons?" Pixel smiled and joined the little girl, explaining, as Score paced off to wait for the moon in seclusion.  
  
  
  
  
  
Helaine contacted Dorian and informed him of her intentions to return before the evening. He did not seem upset that he'd had to stay at the inn on Ekeln-An the previous night, only a little amused at Helaine's quaint desire to spend a little more time with her father.   
  
When Lord Votrin was cornered by a local merchant and haggled about the treachery of the country roads, Helaine slipped outside to the practice fields. She leaned up against the stone wall of the stable and watched as the youths struggled with their broadswords. Helaine smiled. There was no greater joy, no greater rush, than being swept away by the rage and descending on the enemy with powerful strokes.   
  
Helaine heard someone come from the stable and stand beside her, but didn't turn to look. It was probably Borigen, or one of the lackeys, come from grooming. She was reasonably startled, however, when a deep voice asked, "Do you remember me, Lady Helaine Votrin?"  
  
Turning, she eyed the speaker carefully. He was dressed in the easy garb of a warrior, with a vicious scar across his cheek and a long suffering nose that had most likely been broken several times. He was a whole head taller than Helaine, and leaned casually on his sword, as one would trust a childhood friend. She pursed her lips and looked him over once more before shaking her head.   
  
"You broke my arm when we were children." He reminded her gravely, but with a lilting smile that dispelled any grudge. Helaine cocked her head slightly, trying to see the stranger in a new light.   
  
"Mardren!" She cried suddenly, seizing upon the memory of the pompous boy she'd despised.   
  
"If it pleases you." Mardren smiled wryly, giving a slight bow. "I never forgot the drubbing you gave me."   
  
"You deserved what you got." Helaine informed him.   
  
"That I did. I was a dreadful child." He took his weight off his sword and spun it around in a show of dexterity. "I wonder, could you still defeat me?" His voice was teasing and light, so Helaine refused to take offense.   
  
"I rather think I could," she replied. "I've been in practice, and," she broke off and touched the scar on his face gently, "I can you have been too. Shall we have a jaunt?"   
  
"I can think of nothing I would enjoy more." He said with a smile, unbuckling his sheath and leaning it against the stable wall. Helaine did the same, and they sauntered over to the center of the practice field together. Mardren disarmed two of the students with a grin on his part and bashful smiles from them. It was clear he had become some sort of local hero, judging by the reaction his presence elicited.   
  
Armed with the dulled blades, Helaine and Mardren took their stances, and with a lunge, he began his attack. As they exchanged blows, Helaine became aware that all battles around them had disintegrated into an audience. She parried a thrust to her heart and countered with a brisk underhand stroke, all the time marveling at the improvement in Mardren's skills. Though Helaine had her sixth sense that foretold where his attacks were aimed, her opponent had no such magical aid, but was defending himself rather effectively. He had size and raw power over Helaine, but she was nimbler and more rapid with her blows. It was, surprisingly, a fairly even match.  
  
Helaine was beginning to tire, to her horror. It had been around ten minutes since the fight started, and Mardren seemed as fresh as though he'd just started. Gritting her teeth, Helaine intensified her efforts. She couldn't win through endurance, she realized, so she decided to take advantage of what she'd always thought to be her greatest flaw. Possessing rather feminine hips, Helaine's center of balance had fallen from her chest and she discovered a whole new category of thrusts available to her. Mardren's classical training would not lead him to suspect low attacks, because they were ungainly and difficult for full grown men.   
  
Helaine pounced and cut way under Mardren's range, slapping his knees. He grunted, but was forced to raise his sword above his head in order to have a clear aim at her. Helaine seized her chance and sprang up between his arms, pressing her sword against his throat. It was over.   
  
"I win," she panted quietly, inches away from his face. Mardren nodded quietly, reverent of the space between them. Helaine froze and stared, discomfited at the heat that was rising on her face. Suddenly a small boy tugged on her tunic and she glanced down. The magnetic forces keeping her close to Mardren collapsed and they both fell away from each other.   
  
"Who ARE you?" the boy demanded, his voice full of wonder.   
  
  
  
  
*****  
How ironic. Score is fretting over Helaine and she's running around with her former enemies.  
Don't worry...everybody will be happy in the end. And, YES, there is a definite reason for EVERYTHING. It may not seem like it right now, but Crow, Dorian, Lady Brielle, Mardren and anybody else I made up has a precise part to play, and YES, Helaine will be going home soon. She just has to learn a few things first.   
Anyway, I hope you enjoy. This story is my dirty little indulgence after writing analytic papers on Chaucer and Dante.   
Feel free to submit input...I know my writing can be vastly improved, and would greatly appreciate some feedback.  
  
Also, seeing as the next chapter will be the fifteenth, I'll probably break and say thank you to various people (oh how I love you!) and try to clear up a few things. I just really (to quote Ms. Marionni) DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF TIME!  
  
So yeah, next chapter, I promise, I'll extend my gratitude. For right now, just get that warm fuzzy happy feeling because you know I care (even if I didn't send a Hallmark).  
  
  
Righto, that's enough out of me!  
  
Aroo! 


	15. Scars

Helaine and Mardren were alone. The light that shone through the trees was spotted and shifty. They were sitting under an ancient oak tree; Helaine laying on her stomach, Mardren with his boots kicked off, resting against the rough bark. She couldn't believe she was chatting with her hated rival. But she could see, as she rolled over onto her back, looking at his knotted face upside-down, that he had grown up far more than she had in the past years.   
  
It had taken a few terse answers, a lot of running and help from Borigen, but Helaine had finally gotten away from her throng of admiring little boys. Under the shade of oak, it was quiet, except for Mardren's humorous retelling of an old folk tale. "...and so the Erlkonig's daughters were chastised, and Hoferth was spared, and sent away from the realm of the dead for causing such promiscuity."   
  
Helaine laughed. In the real version, the Elf king sliced his daughters' throats for smiling at the mortal and dead Hoferth, but Mardren made the offense far greater and the punishment equally lighter. Helaine decided not to mention her own encounter with the elves on Zarathan, and settled on telling a tale of her own.   
  
It was one Score had told her once. Helaine began her story but her mind wandered away to when she had heard it. The Triad had stayed up late that night, working on creating a spell that would map the entire Diadem in detail, showing the movements and energies of all the planets, rather like Sarman's jewel analog, but without the lives required and potential for power. When it was finally finished, Pixel, who had done the brunt of the work, blearily stumbled up to his room to sleep for two days straight.   
  
Helaine had been exhausted too, but she was mesmerized by the glimmering dots of life spinning dizzily on the wall. Score trotted up to her wearily and leaned his elbow casually on her shoulder. "Nifty, eh?" he asked. Helaine nodded, shrugging off his arm and dropping onto the couch. Score followed suit, and the two watched their universe whirling giddily in silence for some time before Score spoke.   
  
"Star-cross'd lovers" he said, almost grumpily. After a look from Helaine he continued. "Romeo and Juliet. They're very famous on my world. It's a story about blood-feuds and, well, you can probably relate. Rebelling against your parents because you don't fit their idea of a good daughter." Helaine shook her head, too tired to tell him she was in no mood for a story, but once he started, she didn't want to stop him. It pleased her that his tale included things she understood: swords, rival Houses, secret betrothals.   
  
By the fatal end of the lovers and the story, Helaine's eyes were almost shut, and her head was bobbing by her shoulder. Score patted her hair gently. She still remembered the funny look on his face, as though he was upset, but happily so. Then he had helped her to her feet and sent her to bed.   
  
Without realizing it, Helaine had reached the end of the story of Romeo and Juliet. Mardren nodded his head with a smile. "I've never heard that one, my lady. Did you learn it on your travels?"   
  
"You might say that. A...friend told me it was a common tale from his homeland." Helaine sat up and rubbed her head. She would have to thank Score one of these days. Mardren stroked his sword absent-mindedly.   
  
"You know, I hated Renald. Hated him more than anything." His voice was soft.   
  
"I could have told you that." Helaine returned, picking a leaf out of her hair.   
  
"But I dreamed about Helaine." She stopped fiddling and looked at him curiously. "When I found out they were the same person... it was hard to comprehend." Helaine was silent. "But I realized that everything I hated about Renald, I admired in Helaine. She was bold and feisty and so unlike my mother and sisters."   
  
Helaine raised an eyebrow. Any clues that Mardren had ever had any feelings of romance towards her had always been overshadowed by her complete revulsion of him. She let him continue.   
  
"I spent years looking for you, Helaine. I rode into the Borderlands and earned my knighthood there. We razed buildings and took captives in your name. And today, here you are, unscathed, standing in front of me at our old battling ground. I don't pretend to understand..." Mardren paused, took a breath, and continued. He looked rather pink. "But Helaine, I don't care where you've been, and I don't care that your swordarm is better than mine, but I do... I do care about you."   
  
Helaine started. Was he saying what she thought he was?   
  
"I would... like it if you would consider my name when you decide on a husband." Mardren released his last sentence in a puff of air, no longer looking pink. Helaine's eyes were round and wide, twin moons in a disbelieving sky. She stuttered for a bit, then reached out and touched his brown hand. It was warm. She tilted her head and searched his face. The gaze he returned held no trace of its former bombast.   
  
"I will" she whispered finally. What harm could there be in that? But Mardren ran the finger of his free hand along her jawbone and Helaine suddenly saw all the harm in the world, but couldn't stop him from kissing her quietly.   
  
  
*****  
Should I stop here? No, I wouldn't do that to you. Read on:  
*****  
  
It was just short of pleasurable. He tasted earthy and solid, quite unlike the summery, butterfly kisses Pixel had given her. And from his rough lips, Helaine saw her future with Mardren, if she accepted it. She found her father's pride, her children's love and husband's esteem. It would have been more than enough for the old Helaine Votrin. But something was missing. As he pulled back, Helaine realized that he could never be her equal, because he could never understand the unicorns or the Diadem or travel with her to Dondar and the windy savanna or savor one of Score's hamburgers. And Helaine knew she would always resent him for keeping her from the core of her magic. She smiled sadly.   
  
"I'm not marrying anyone today, Mardren." She said, and patted his hand once before releasing it. "And I have other worlds to visit before I settle down."   
  
He looked at her, and she knew he understood this. He nodded and started to put his boots back on, but Helaine stopped him. "Let us part as friends, and as warriors," she said sternly. Mardren returned her steady gaze before speaking.   
  
"If you ever need me..."   
  
"I know."   
  
And that was all that needed to be said.   
  
  
  
  
Score was standing on the parapet of Shanara's castle, which, though it probably hadn't seen a siege in eons, was well maintained and sturdy. It was bitterly cold, but Score, in jeans and a t-shirt, didn't seem to notice. A nasty wind was threatening to rip his ears off, yet he could not bring himself to shiver. The trees and streams and lakes far below seemed harsh and wintry, and while the sun shone, it seemed a weak and pitiful beam that landed on the castle.   
  
He glared, little breaths materializing and then fading away in front of him. He was angry. If Shanara was a little more attentive, he could know right now where Helaine was and go to her, and bring her home. He so desperately wanted to know she was safe, it was like a terrible gnawing at his brain.   
  
A little hand tugged on his shirt. It was Crow, carrying one of Shanara's furs. The girl stared blankly at him, until Score was motivated to wrap the thing around his shoulders. He muttered his thanks and turned back to staring at the land below. The hand tugged on his shirt again. "What?" He snapped, a little sharper than he meant to. Crow blinked and stepped back, eyes glassy. Score sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm very... irritated."   
  
Crow nodded, then reached into the pocket of his fur. Startled, Score jerked a little, but Crow's fingers were nimble and she retrieved an object in a matter of seconds. It was his emerald. "Hey, how did you...?" he started, then changed his mind. Pickpocketing was the least of his worries. Crow stood on her toes to peer over the battlements, then turned to him.   
  
"Who's t'lady?"  
  
"What, Shanara?" Score urged one of the stones to protrude a little for the wall, making a step for Crow to stand on.   
  
"No, Helaine." Crow's face was grave and dark. Score smiled.   
  
"Helaine is fairly pretty, but mostly she is a fighter. She carries a long, deadly sword and..." Score continued in his description, warming at the thought of Helaine's indignant ways and scornful boasts. Crow listened as though committing everything to memory. Score's heartbeat slowed, and his tense muscles relaxed. Everything would be all right, just as soon as the moon rose.   
  
  
  
  
Helaine paused before the Portal. Her father, step-mother, and half-brother huddled away from the blackness of the opening. Borigen and Mardren stood too, trying to look brave in the face of the unknown. Helaine caught Mardren's eye and smiled kindly. She turned to leave, but then she saw Garon. She squatted down at his level and stared coolly. The boy stared back, a little frightened. Helaine leaned in and whispered in his ear.   
  
"Always know that you are a true son of the House of Votrin." She withdrew slightly and watched contentedly as her brother puffed up his chest and nodded solemnly. Clasping his hand, she felt the strength of her father's love for the boy and foretold his greatness before she rose to her feet.  
  
Lord Votrin snatched at his daughter and held her one last time. "Come back someday," was his command. Helaine smiled and stepped towards the Portal. A bittersweet buzz echoed in her ears as she turned and jumped through. She knew Ordin would be her destination again, but it could never be her true home.   
  
Dorian was waiting for her. He closed the Portal and sat on the bed, as though waiting. Helaine looked at her boots. "Thank you for making the Portal for me. If you like, I'll make the one back to Rawn. I'm sure Shanara is wondering where we are."   
  
But he made no sign of movement. Finally, "I don't think we should leave Ekeln-An just yet." He waved a hand. "Come over here."   
  
Helaine staggered over to him, reluctantly. A little warning nagged at her brain, but she froze, perfectly still, as he lazily traced little patterns on her tunic. "You're a very good girl," he purred, "and since I did you a favor, now you have to do something for me." He was toying with the laces on her breeches. Helaine jumped back, but he caught her arm. Alarm bells were clamoring, now. The white monkey ring was running frantically around her wrist, perforating her skin with its little claws.   
  
  
Far away on Rawn, Score felt her fear. He dug his nails into his palms and waited impatiently. Shanara said it would be three minutes. They were the worst three minutes of his life.  
  
  
"Let me go." Helaine snarled, reaching for her sword.   
  
"I wouldn't touch that." He warned. Helaine grasped the hilt anyway and started to unsheathe it, but the metal burned her palm and she dropped the sword back into the sheath. She shuddered at the smell of her charred flesh, and when she hazarded a glance, angry scarlet blisters roared back at her.   
  
"What did you do to me?" She demanded, clenching her jaw to both ward off tears and distract her from Dorian's clumsy, fumbling hands.   
  
"Nothing. Ekeln-An is a peaceful, civilized world. We do not allow metal to be drawn in anger." He grinned slowly, unbuckling her sword and sheath from around her waist. They clattered to the floor, and Helaine winced. She tried to back away, but he grabbed her inflamed hand and squeezed. Helaine fell to her knees with a scream. The pain from her right hand was blackening the edges of her vision. She struggled to maintain consciousness, afraid of what would happen if she fainted. She needed a spell, but she couldn't focus enough to light a candle, let alone protect herself.   
  
  
Apparently fed up with going slowly, Dorian yanked on the hem of her tunic hard. It ripped halfway, and another sharp jerk cleaved it. A modified half-corset kept Helaine decent, but her stomach curled at being exposed. Her vision blurred with tears, but not a single one fell. She felt dead, limp, lifeless. For maybe only the second or third time in her life, Helaine gave up. She hoped it would be over soon.   
  
She was aware of her tattered tunic being torn off and thrown across the room, and felt her skin recoil at his every touch. Every fingertip felt like it would leave an invisible bruise that would hurt forever. She was aware of her breech laces being undone with his free hand. She was aware that she was kicking and hitting him weakly, unable to summon any strength with the dizzying pain of her burn.   
  
Then she was aware of something else.   
  
A terrible angel of vengeance surged into the room on a wave of glorious anger, his face glowing white hot with fury. With a toss of his hand, the angel slammed Dorian across the room and slammed him against the wall. Repeatedly. He was yelling something, but Helaine couldn't listen. She blacked out before her head hit the floor.   
  
  
  
Score saw Helaine tip over, and left off knocking Dorian - if that was indeed who it was - against the wall. He scrambled over the bed to kneel by her side. The instant Shanara found her in the scrying pool, Score had opened the Portal and dashed through, forgetting everything in his mad rush to save her. The sight of the pestilent, rotting....thing....and Helaine, helpless, infuriated him even more.   
  
Score pushed the thoughts out of his mind and focused on the inert Helaine. She didn't seem likely to awaken soon. He lifted her like a baby, her limbs and head dangling awkwardly. One of Shanara's furs landed on top of the girl. Score looked up and saw Pixel. In his rage, he'd completely forgotten his friend was even there. He tried to catch the other boy's eye, but failed. Pixel was as intent on Helaine as he was.   
  
"What should we do about him?" Pixel asked, gesturing with his head to the fallen form of Dorian. Score spat on the floor bitterly.   
  
"Damn him, kill him, I don't care." Score reopened the Portal to Rawn. Pixel gave one last look at the bastard, and cast a magical tag on the wizard. He would show up on their map back home now, whenever Pixel called his name. Justice would come to him someday.   
  
  
  
The first thing Helaine noticed was a pressure on her left arm. Without opening her eyes, she knew she lay in her bed on Dondar. The smell and feel of the familiar sheets calmed her. She wiggled her toes a little bit. It was as though she was waking from a long nightmare, and, in a way, she supposed she was. Finally, she cracked an eye open. Score's dozing head was nestled on the pillow next to her, his hand resting on her upper arm. Confused, Helaine opened the other eye and saw that he was sitting in a chair next to her bed. Pixel was at the other end of the room, also sleeping. Helaine turned her head and saw her right hand bundled in bandages. It throbbed.   
  
Score moved next to her, and Helaine turned to look at him. He yawned, opened his eyes, and surveyed her face tiredly from his vantage point of an inch away before realizing where he was. He sat up suddenly, and Helaine watched his movements with interest.   
  
"Sorry," he apologized. "I must have fallen asleep." He scratched his face, still unshaven.   
  
"Yes."   
  
It was quiet for awhile.   
  
"Thank you." Helaine sighed and shut her eyes. Score ran his eyes over her face for a long time after she fell back asleep, wondering how he felt.   
  
  
  
  
************  
(ooh, extra stars this time...)  
  
Okay, well, notes on this chapter: Don't hate me, please, but I'm actually kind of pleased with how this chapter turned out. It seems sort of fitting. I always thought 15 was an ominous number.  
Helaine and Crow are going to have some words, soon, and there will probably be a span of a chapter where people resort themselves, but then I'm kicking them off their behinds and sending them off again.   
  
Okay, Reader's Poll: In my original plans for the story, I had a girl for Pixel, but I cut her in draft two. I'm just trying to gague interest in this, because now I don't know if I want her or not. So, if you think Pixel's been a good boy and rather neglected (as he seems to be in most fanfics), then by all means, tell me. Normally, I'm very protective of my ideas and don't want anyone else to influence them, but on this point I'm pretty ambivalent, so, have at it.   
  
Anyway, review with your opinion. As usual, all my grammatical errors I apologize for heartily.   
  
And now, like I promised, in no particular order, many thanks:  
  
Cami Drace: I *love* waffles.   
Keaira: So much encouragement! And maybe one day I'll jot a few pages of Dragonhome, just to see what it tastes like.  
ihire: Thanks again for remembering my birthday :)  
kungfool: Dunno what happened to your story, but I miss it!  
Dootzbugg: Oh, its ALL about the mushy...thanks for your support  
Peter Kim: Wins the award for most verbal... and most "etc" in one review... i love all the suggestions, and the not so subtle reminders to hurry up though :)  
Reese: I don't know if you read more, but I hope you liked it  
ACK: Description is the spice in the soup of writing...and have always thought Score is an old softie at heart   
Bookworm85: If you write, I will read!  
Luna: I did write more! Great website by the way   
  
*WHOOSH* Okay, got that all over with (not that I don't love you all) but now I can get back to my main business: writing (yay!)  
So, don't expect so much length on the next author's notes or so...I don't particularly like doing it. Hopefully my story can stand on its own, without all this jibba jabba (hee hee).   
  
AROO! 


	16. Tears

When Helaine next woke, she was instantly aware of the intense stare of a dark little stranger. Score was not standing watch over her, and Pixel had gone too. Helaine could tell by the light that trickled in through the window that it was morning.   
  
"Who are you?" She asked tiredly. The little cretin's nose twitched, and it started lifting up the coverlet on the bed and sticking her head underneath. "Knock it off!" Helaine snapped, snatching the sheets away from the girl's grubby fingers. "I'll cut your throat, I swear" she snarled, trying to be menacing, despite her exhaustion. The girl posed no threat, she knew, but it was irritating.   
  
At Helaine's warning, the girl leapt backwards and climbed onto the chair Score had been sleeping in earlier, peering at Helaine.   
  
"Where's it?" The girl asked, exasperated.   
  
"Where is what?" Helaine returned, "And will you get out of my bedroom? Where are Score and Pixel? Who let you in here? Where did you come from?"   
  
"Your sword! Scur sayed that you had a really big un."   
  
Helaine stopped. Where was her sword? She hoped it wasn't back on Ekeln-An. Pixel should have had the presence of mind to pick it up for her. But that still didn't explain the appearance of this strange little girl.   
  
*Score? Pixel?* She stretched out with her mind. *Why the hell is there a girl with blue hair in my room?* There was a buzz in her mind, signifying that they had both heard her, but were stalling an answer.   
  
*You tell her* *It was your idea* *She won't get mad at you* *Yes, she will*  
  
Helaine sighed. Score and Pixel peeked around the door a minute later, each looking slightly guilty. Pixel stretched out a hand to the girl.   
  
"Come away from her, Crow. It's not polite to sneak in on people when they're sleeping."   
  
"I was jes lookin for hers sword," Crow protested, but dismounted from the chair and scampered over to stand between Score and Pixel. She smiled at Helaine ever so slightly.   
  
"Um, Helaine, this is Crow, from the rim world Myrd. Crow, this is our very good friend Helaine who also lives in the castle with us." Pixel smiled brightly during his introduction.   
  
Helaine started to sit up, but discovered that her tunic had not been replaced. She colored slightly, then summoned a robe to wrap around herself. "I see." She said, as she took her time tying the belt with her good hand. With what strength she had, Helaine slid gracefully out of bed and arose. For a second, she towered majestically over Crow, but then her legs buckled and she had to lean on the chair. She felt weak.   
  
"We brought Crow to live with us here, because she doesn't have a home on her world. She's very bright, and a quick learner" Pixel explained carefully.   
  
Helaine ignored this and stared at Score, as though waiting to hear what he had to say. When he was silent, she stalked across her room, unimpeded, towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower," she heard herself say.  
  
The bathroom door clicked shut.   
  
Outside, Score and Pixel exchanged worried glances. Inside, Helaine stood before the mirror and gazed at her reflection. Her eyes were flat, and her whole face looked hollow. She didn't want to talk to either of them again. What she really wanted to do was throw up, or die. Better death than remember her frailty, her stupidity. God.  
  
Score whispered, so Crow couldn't hear, "something isn't right", and motioned with his head for Pixel to escort the girl out. Pixel nodded, and left the room, talking of painting, and Score strode up to the bathroom door. The sounds of a shower didn't reach his ear, so he began his hortatory.   
  
"She's not a bad kid you know." He said through the door. There was a silence, and he almost thought she didn't hear him, but then her voice came back, muffled.  
  
"Please leave."   
  
"No. I won't. I'm not leaving until you give Crow a chance. She's-"  
  
"Oh shut up about your little runt" Helaine snapped, interrupting Score.   
  
"Just because you're hurt doesn't mean you can bitch at the rest of us" He shot back.   
  
"I can act just how I please."  
  
"Pixel and I care about you, Helaine, and we-"  
  
"If you care about me so much," Helaine snarled sarcastically, "then you'd go away."   
  
"-and I don't want you to rot the rest of your life away just because-"  
  
"Leave me ALONE!" She screamed shrilly, her voice echoing against the tiled walls and floor of the bathroom.   
  
"FINE!" he roared back, slamming his fist against the door. He didn't leave, but stood there instead, seething. His hand hurt. But his countenance softened at the sound of Helaine sobbing in the bathroom. Score put a hand on the doorknob and unlocked it with a whispered spell. The knob turned, the door slipped open, and Score found Helaine, her face buried in a towel. Awkwardly, Score looked at the floor and then "I'm sorry."   
  
Helaine turned around and glared at him for two seconds before her glare melted into a pained expression. Her eyes were red. "You never apologize." She accused him.   
  
"Well, I am now. Sorry." He offered his hand for a shake, and she accepted with her unscathed left hand. She held it for a while in silence.   
  
"That was stupid of me." She sighed finally, sniffing. "To leave everything so perfect here and snare myself in trouble."   
  
"No. No, the only stupid thing you did was wander off with that creep."  
  
"He didn't look like that when I met him"   
  
"What exactly were you doing with him? Did it start off....fine..." Score choked on the word, "...and then get out of control?"   
  
Helaine stared at him, uncomprehending. Then, startled understanding. "No!" she protested. But she remembered her immediate attraction to Dorian and amended her statement reluctantly "Not really."   
  
Score stared at Helaine. "I see." He said tightly. "Maybe they don't teach you these things on Ordin, but you shouldn't lead someone to believe that they can...have...take...what they want."   
  
"No. Nothing like that. No." She shook her head and thought of Dorian's greedy, lecherous smile and started shaking again. "I could never... no."   
  
Score chided himself mentally. Of course Helaine didn't run around seducing strange men. She didn't have an alluring bone in her body.   
  
"It's just..." she began. "It's just that I was so helpless!" Her last word unlocked another dam of tears, putting Score in the awkward position his sex had come to hate. He bit his lip and gingerly reached out to pat her on the shoulder with his left hand, as she still gripped his right. Helaine had other ideas, and wormed her head into his shoulder and heaved with sobs. Score's heart did a little blip, and he waved his liberated hands in the air uselessly for a few seconds before resting them on her shoulders.   
  
He clumsily smoothed her hair and looked around the bathroom in a panic. Pissed-off Helaine, dejected Helaine, uppity Helaine, all these he could deal with. But weeping, distraught Helaine? She had always been stronger than this.   
  
The day was dark.   
  
  
  
  
  
*****  
This chapter is entirely for Ihire. Happy birthday :)   
Short, a little dark, yeah, I know. But these things happen.   
Aroo! 


	17. Mend

Helaine managed to successfully avoid the boys for the next two days, sleeping late, eating alone, and wandering the fields of Dondar deep into the night. On the third day, she padded gently into the kitchen at the usual breakfast hour, surprising Score, Pixel, and to a lesser extent, Crow. "I saw my father again." She stated simply, sitting down opposite Pixel. "He remarried. I have a half-brother." Helaine wrinkled her nose. "Except not quite, since I'm not technically related to my father."   
  
Score and Pixel exchanged a look that clearly conveyed their confusion. Helaine launched into an abbreviated version of her journey, skipping over her excursion with Mardren, for Score's sake, and the sordid details of Ekeln-An, for her own. The boys were predictably discomfited at the news of Gunther's death, and eager to hear about her family. Finished, she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.   
  
"And that's all there is to it." She announced, rather glumly, tugging at the loose end of her bandage. Pixel noticed the gesture.   
  
"Score and I discussed it, Helaine, and we think we can heal your hand instantly, and prevent the formation of scar tissue." It would be a complicated spell, though not nearly so straining as healing Destiny. "All we have to do is—"  
  
"No." Helaine interrupted. Pixel and Score simultaneously turned to her, shocked. "No, I want my scars."   
  
"But—" Pixel started.   
  
"No." She insisted again, firmly. "These are for me to keep."   
  
Score moved behind her and reached for her wrapped hand, hovering slightly. "Helaine, be reasonable. If you allow the tissue to harden you will loose the flexibility and nimbleness you once had. You won't be the fighter you were." Softly, he allowed his fingers to rest briefly on hers.   
  
A feisty current far wilder than static electricity sparked between their fingers, so vivid Helaine thought she could almost see it, bright blue flames. Her tongue was suddenly fat in her mouth and her ears rang with a galloping pulse she scarcely recognized as her own.   
  
Score withdrew his hand with mercurial speed. His insides were quivering in a most unusual manner. Shaken, he continued with his original subject. "Let Pixel and I fix your hand. You can keep the semblance of the scar, but what is deeper needs mending."   
  
Helaine lolled internally. Score was right. What was deeper did need mending. But it went beyond muscle tissue. And Score was exactly the wrong person to try to help.   
  
"Fine." She muttered.   
  
"The sooner we attempt the spell, the better our chances of repairing you properly." Pixel took command, with the authoritative tone he assumed when it came to these sorts of things. "Score, I need a basin of hot water, clean towels, and the green tome on healing next to my bed." The Earth boy, with surprising and uncharacteristic alacrity, leapt out of the room. "Crow," Pixel continued, turning to the silent observer, "I need you to gather leaves from the large purple tree by the lake. Do you know what I'm talking about?" A nod. "I'll need at least a dozen." With slightly less enthusiasm, Crow trotted out into the sunlit corridor.   
  
"What will purple leaves do for me?" Helaine croaked.   
  
"Nothing. But they'll keep Crow out of the way for a long time. It's a good twenty minute walk to the lake." Pixel hesitated. "The procedure, according to the book, is going to be...at times...excruciating. And rather messy. I don't want her here."   
  
Helaine almost grinned. "Don't worry about pain." She snorted, a hint of her former arrogance on the rebound. "I can handle more than either of you lily-livered boys." Pixel just smiled.   
  
"But listen," he began, in a more serious tone. "I sent Score out of the room for a reason." Helaine glanced up at Pixel. "I can tell that something has changed. More happened to you on your trip than you confessed."   
  
Helaine shoved away from the table restlessly and paced across to the other end of the room. Pixel knew everything, didn't he?   
  
"Is there anything... anything at all you want to get off your chest?"   
  
She turned. It was clear on his face what he meant, but there was no point in giving him the satisfaction of knowing he was right. If she didn't have to admit it, she could still feign ignorance. Finally, smiling condescendingly, Helaine shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. You're imagining things, Pixel."   
  
Score chose that moment to burst back into the room, tub of water in his hands, and book clenched between his teeth. "You could have levitated it behind you." Pixel said with some dismay as he gingerly picked his precious textbook on healing out of Score's mouth and wiped saliva off it.   
  
"Sorry," Score managed to look a little sheepish. "I was in a hurry."   
  
"So I see." Helaine retorted dryly, "You forgot towels."   
  
Score made a motion to run off again, but Pixel waved him down. "Never mind that." He muttered something and a large pile of recently folded white towels cluttered the table. "First things first. Helaine, you sit here, and put your arm on the table." She obeyed Pixel, and he began undoing the bandages he'd fiercely wrapped some four days earlier. After unrolling two or so layers, it became quite clear that something was not right, and after the bandage was totally removed, the infected palm came into light.   
  
"Oh, gross." Score complained.   
  
"Shut up," Helaine snapped, feeling queasy as well. The burn, undressed and unattended to, except for the first wrapping, was festering in a most putrid manner. A combination of blood and pus and some dirty-looking green goo stained the bandage, which Score hastily disposed of.   
  
"I was afraid of this." Pixel sighed. "Now, before we can heal the burn, we have to remove the rotting bits."  
  
"Rotting bits?" Score made a face. "Good job keeping that wound clean, Helaine. Don't they teach you these things in warrior school?"  
  
Helaine rolled her eyes and ignored Score, alternately fascinated and repulsed by the vile sight of her hand. Had she really been so occupied with...other matters...that she'd neglected the most basic of her field training? Yes.   
  
Pixel, meanwhile, was sterilizing a razor blade. "This is going to hurt enormously." He cautioned her. "Are you sure you want to do this now?" Helaine cast a wavering eye at the glinting steel, then gritted her teeth together.   
  
"It's not going to get any easier. Hack away."   
  
Instead of plunging into her with the tiny knife as she expected him to, Pixel dipped one of the towels into the hot water and began scrubbing gently. Immediately Helaine grunted in response to the tenderness of her raw hand.   
  
"Hey hey hey wait a minute!" Score yelped. "You're just going to root around with a knife without any anesthesia?" Helaine looked blank. Right, the meaning of anesthesia would definitely be lost on her. But Pixel should know better.   
  
"The book says magical pain deadeners are to be strongly cautioned against, because if the body cannot feel the results of the magic, then it will not respond, and the healing will be undone in an instant." Pixel informed Score patiently.   
  
"Yeah, but... come on! Can't we give her a drug or something? Anything?" Score demanded.   
  
Helaine smiled inwardly, touched that Score bothered about her pain tolerance. What she said, though, was "Don't worry about me. I can take it."  
  
She nodded at Pixel, inviting him to continue, but she gasped involuntarily when the towel touched her again. Suddenly, she felt dreamy, sleepy. Her eyes rolled around a little before settling on Score. He had an apologetic look on his face, hands spread, as if saying "I did what I had to." Helaine puzzled fuzzily. Then she realized: Knockout gas! He was putting her under! How dare he take...take...how dare...he...  
  
Helaine's head thudded against the heavy wood of the table and Score winced. "I hate to do that do her, but she never would have agreed to be put under voluntarily. Her ego is way too swollen." He moved closer to her slumped form and sat her upright, holding her head erect with a tender hand under her proud chin. "But I hate even more to see her in pain like that, not letting herself scream."   
  
Silent for a moment, Pixel scrubbed with vigor. Then he said, as he was wringing the towel into the basin. "You shouldn't have done that."   
  
"You saw how much it hurt her! Hell, I would have been screaming. She—"  
  
"She needs her autonomy more than ever now. Think about it Score. Didn't you say that it was her own helplessness that scared her? More than...than... well, the actual act?"   
  
"Yeah," Score muttered. He looked down at Helaine. She was frowning ever so slightly in her jaunt across her treacherous unconscious. Score had been there, once. And while he wasn't too anxious for a return trip, Zarathan had explained a lot about Helaine to him.   
  
"Score, when she wakes up, she will be just as torn and rent as she was before. Only this," Pixel pointed to Helaine's hand, "will be fixed. She's spiritually hurt, and there is nothing we can do for that."  
  
Score looked away, biting his bottom lip. Nothing?  
  
"Nothing except be her friends." There was silence for awhile.   
  
"She..." Score stuttered finally, "She is... I want the old Helaine back. You don't understand, Pixel, she needs to be herself again, because I need..." Score stopped himself abruptly. He looked at Pixel and the other boy locked eyes with him. Flustered, Score groped about for an explanation. "I need... both of you two to support me. Triad reborn and ...stuff," he finished lamely.   
  
Pixel returned to his work quietly. It disturbed him to no end to be slicing Helaine's flesh like this, but he kept his nausea under control. A short while later, he mentioned in an off-hand tone. "I'll kill you if you hurt her."   
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. You're like a brother to me, Score, but I promise I'll kill you if you hurt her."   
  
Score blinked. "Are you saying..."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you don't mind if..."  
  
"No."  
  
"Do you think...do you think there's something there? Or am I just stupid?" Score managed a full sentence.   
  
Pixel was quiet for awhile. "Yes. To both. Now get ready, because this is what you have to do."  
  
  
  
  
Helaine sat on the windy, sepia plain of Elysia of her unconscious. She hadn't been here in awhile. She did dream, but her dreams never took her here. This was the field of lucid dreaming, where she had full control and choice. It was something people on her world achieved rarely, but something Helaine was quite proficient at. The sacrificed God, the priests said, had been the One to open the fields of Elysia to the people of Ordin, so they could look upon the faces of their ancestors and remember their stories of courage, fighting in His name. Helaine didn't know how much of it she bought into, but lucid dreaming was rather enjoyable.  
  
It was funny. The last time she'd been in Elysia was on Zarathan, asking her soul for guidance. She'd walked across the plain and seen the hall of the Elfking, the Erlkonig, and known how to find Pixel. The spell asking for guidance for the soul did nothing except deposit her in Elysia, but that was enough.  
  
Usually, she quite enjoyed her moments on the plain, but she was angry with Score, for knocking her unconscious. Unbidden, his figure appeared on the plain. So it was in Elysia. Thoughts became real, things to interact with. It was rather useful in working her way around problems.   
  
Well, Helaine thought to herself, I may as well enjoy my time while I'm here. She cleared her mind utterly, and then opened the floodgates. A million thoughts jostled for supremacy, but one won out, and Helaine opened her eyes.   
  
She was in the forest of Ordin again, kissing Mardren. She smiled, closed her eyes again, and instead of leaving it at a single kiss, moved in closer for more. No need to worry about his feelings in Elysia. She felt pleasantly warm and satisfied.  
  
Suddenly, though, she was seized by uncontrollable desire to be as close to him as possible, and the kisses turned aggressive. Teeth nicked her lips, but it was exhilarating, rather than painful. She was aware that she was crushing herself into him, and suddenly she was on her back in the leaves, electricity and energy dashing along her veins, and it was all very lovely until she opened her eyes for a peek and saw...  
  
Score?  
  
"Yi!" Helaine yelped, tugging down her shirt while scuttling away from him, kicking up leaves. "What are YOU doing here?"   
  
He didn't respond, of course, because he was merely a shadow created by her imagination. It was disturbing. People did not change faces in Elysia unless you wanted them to. Helaine willed herself back to the plains, and she was alone. What she needed was a good, hard run. She thought back to her hours as a unicorn, and then galloped as rapidly as she could across the never-ending fields. As long as she was running, no thoughts could bother her.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
*****  
Happy Post-Thanksgiving!  
  
  
I hope this chapter cleared up a few things: Erlkonig comes from Goethe's poem, in which the elf king represents death. I thought this tied in nicely with Mr. Peel's hint that the realm of the elves is where the dead go.   
  
Second, although there were references to it in a previous chapter (15, maybe?), this chapter confirms Helaine's muddled version of Christianity. Surprisingly, I've found a lot of hostility towards Christians (and other monotheistic religions, for that matter) on ff.net, which saddens me. I don't want to make this story my personal tirade about religion, but I would rather you didn't review with nasty comments about how childish Christianity is or whatever. If you think you have a valid argument against it, or a valid argument for Wicca or atheism, then by all means, email me at bluelemonrising@yahoo.com, and I would be more than happy to engage in a theological debate. That is ALL I'm going to say on this subject, except to add that Helaine's monotheism (and reference to a sacrificed God) are going to be very important in later chapters.  
  
Third, I know this story doesn't jive with my other fluffy fic, but I decided I need Elysia (which hails from Greek mythology) to carry out my purpose.  
  
Finally, Confidential (well, not really) to Silver Spider: I'm swamped right now, and I couldn't bear to start a story I couldn't devote my attention to. However...if YOU (or anybody else) would like to "adopt" the mature, grown-up Mardren, and set him and Helaine in some sort of AU, be my guest! I'll beta, muse, or plot bunny, if necessary, but I don't want to start something I don't have the energy to finish.   
  
I hope everyone had a lovely holiday, and thank God (or your prefered deity) for our US soldiers (my cousin is one).   
  
Aroo! 


	18. Summons

Score kept vigil over Helaine while Pixel wrapped up the spell. It seemed to him he'd been doing a lot of vigil-keeping over her lately. Feeling slightly drained with the effort of welding muscle fibers together, Score held her head with one hand, and scratched his chin with the other. Maybe he'd keep the stubble. Chicks dig beards, right? He was just about to summon a mirror when a blinding flash shook the castle.   
  
Pixel felt it too: a low rumble starting in the pit of his stomach, moving up through his chest. The force grew warmer as it crept upwards until a bright white heat burned behind his eyeballs. Without quite meaning to, Pixel closed his eyes, and an astounding vision awaited him.   
  
A soft, curved woman stretched her arms out towards him, and she was wearing everything and yet nothing, speaking in every language and yet not moving her mouth, smiling with warmth and yet her face was impassive, stern, her body youthful and round yet her eyes ancient. She was beautiful. She continued smiling for awhile, then pursed her lips. A white pebble appeared in her hand, and she placed it snugly in Pixel's own. He felt the cold roundness of it in his palm, and looked down.   
  
The vision was gone, the stone remained. Pixel looked up to see Score, standing, mouth flapping, holding another white rock. Wordless, Pixel pried open Helaine's fingers, to find yet another.   
  
"What WAS that?" Score finally asked. Pixel shook his head. "Wow." Score rolled the pebble around on his palm. "You know, I think she was pretty. But I can't really remember."   
  
Pixel ignored Score. This was not uncommon. "Whatever it was, all three of us...or at least you and I, saw the same thing. I'd be willing to be Helaine did too. Maybe Oracle knows something about this."   
  
"Mass hallucinations?"  
  
"Or whatever."   
  
Helaine shifted beneath Score's hand. The edges of Elysia were blurring into reality; she would awaken soon. This was satisfactory, because she'd had to share her dream lands with the lovely woman, and this disturbed her. She was supposed to have control over everything here, but this was the second incident-Helaine refused to think about the first-of a surprising nature.   
  
Score let his fingers linger on her chin, long after she was aware enough to support her own head. Her skin was smooth and yielding here, unlike her callused palms and gnarled feet, oh God, her feet! Certainly worse than some troll feet he'd seen. But here, just under her proud chin, there was something soft and feminine, and Score reached with a trembling thumb to touch her neck, between the taut lines of muscle.   
  
Helaine's cold hand closed around his and with one of those moves of hers she managed to both leap from her chair and twist his arm in front of him. It hurt, slightly. "You used knockout gas on me." She made a fist with her free hand, presumably to threaten him. "You should have-" She stopped, and admired her completely mobile hand. "Nice work, Pixel" she interjected. "You, on the other hand," she turned back to Score, "you-"  
  
"Would you mind letting me go? You're hurting my arm."   
  
Helaine relented a little, and released him. "Thanks," she sighed, wrapping her healed arm around Pixel in a friendly hug.   
  
"What?" exclaimed Score in mock outrage, "Why does he get the thanks and I get the fist?"   
  
"Because," she replied, almost sweetly, "I'm sure he did all the work and you merely knocked me unconscious." She paused. "You know, I had the strangest dream..."  
  
"About a woman?"  
  
"With a rock?"   
  
Helaine stared at the other two for a second before comprehending. "Er...yes. I presume I was not alone in my vision?"   
  
"I was going to call up Oracle to see if he knows anything. I got the feeling she was speaking to more than just us." Pixel rubbed his eyes. It was rather like the old days-before they had time to deal with one crisis, another sprang into existence, rather like playing Whack-a-Mole.   
  
Helaine groped about for Score and Pixel in the darkness of her mind. Score was easiest to find; bright, pulsating emerald light, sparking with energy. She linked with him and then Pixel's red warmth and followed his sending call "LIZXOV".   
  
A temperate breeze lifted the hairs on Pixel's neck. He'd forgotten how utterly right it felt for the three of them to be working together. Really, he was quite capable of summoning Oracle by himself, but Helaine's magic completed the unbalanced pairing of Pixel and Score, adding an almost soprano lilt to the weave of the spell.   
  
Oracle ruined the moment appropriately, appearing with a slight 'pop' of air. He was dressed in his trademark black-on-black, with a surprisingly jocular smile lighting his otherwise pale face.   
  
"I take it you got summons too?" He asked briskly, without waiting for the three to explain why they called him.   
  
"Er...summons?" Score queried.   
  
"Yes. The wizarding council is held every hundred years, but usually only a select few are invited. Every thousand years however, they hold the grand circuit. Every wizard, every magical creature, even silly apparitions like myself...all are summoned to appear."  
  
"On whose authority?" Helaine demanded. "I thought we were the rulers of the Diadem. Who is more powerful than us to order such a meeting?"   
  
Oracle looked a little amused. "You think the Diadem is all there is to the universe?"   
  
The Triad reborn exchanged a few confused looks, before Pixel spoke for the three. "Something along those lines."  
  
"Well, remember when I told you that the Diadem didn't effect the way planets were arranged in space?" Oracle waited for the nods of recognition before continuing. "So who exactly do you think created the Diadem?"   
  
"I don't know. Who did?" Helaine had that impatient-horse look about her, shifting from one foot to the other and tossing her hair every which way.   
  
"Well, nobody knows for certain-"  
  
"Gee, that helps us a lot." It was sarcasm, but Score couldn't help feeling a little peeved at Oracle. Then again, how was that abnormal?   
  
"-But, legend says there used to be only one planet, Jewel, with magic-users on it. It is said that the leaders of the planet created the Diadem to exile criminals, but that the outlawed magicians kept finding ways back from the rim worlds, and eventually, their offspring permeated the entirety of the Diadem."  
  
"That would explain a lot." Pixel cut in, his forehead furrowed with puzzling through Oracle's information. "Like why you can't make Portals from the rim worlds, and why you can't leave Jewel unless there is something there to control the power." He paused. "It also explains why all the wizards we have met so far have mostly proven to be scum. They're the direct descendants of murderers and who knows what else."   
  
"Rapists" Helaine hissed, almost to herself.   
  
"So, then, there may be some of the good wizards left...somehow they managed to survive through the reigns of the Triad and Sarman... and that is who we saw in our visions." Pixel beamed.   
  
With a shrug of his thin shoulders, Oracle spread his hands wide and sighed. "I don't know. I only have the knowledge the Triad programmed me to have...anything they didn't know about....which wasn't a lot... I don't know about."  
  
"This wizarding council sounds treacherous." Helaine said, a wicked glint in her eye. "If there are going to be magic-users from the span of the Diadem."   
  
"There are spells in place..." Oracle frowned as he searched his memory for the right words. "Very.... layered... spells. They're placed on the building where the meeting takes place...they've been there forever. I've spent some time in the Hall of the Ancients, and these things crackle with energy. Basically, they force you to check your magic at the door. That's why some magicians refuse to go."  
  
"You don't have to go if you're summoned?"  
  
"Oh, no. Of course not. Generally, it's a good idea to go, just to see who's moving up the ranks. Usually at least one member of the old Triad would go, to watch for potential enemies. Sarman met Traxis there. That's when that started."   
  
"Wait." Pixel was frowning again. "If the Triad used to go to these councils...then how come they don't know who runs them?"  
  
"Nobody officiates. You show up, you sit in your circuit of the Diadem, and whoever wants the floor takes it. It's very interesting, usually."  
  
"When will the next council be?" Helaine asked. She looked... eager. Score realized he missed seeing that hungry anticipation in her eyes... it reminded him of the old days. He smiled.   
  
"Right about..." Oracle fished through the pockets in his vest, eventually finding a watch. He looked at it. "Now."   
  
A bright white portal flickered into life where the kitchen table had been. Instead of seeing the empty blackness they were typically used to, a soft honey light illuminated the gateway.   
  
  
  
  
  
*****  
Hah! I update! Things happen!   
*So* proud of myself. But that's not all...  
I ALSO (for a happy bit of fluff), wrote silly H/S nonsense: "Mistletoe" check it out.   
AND I drew a picture (wow. Not something I normally do) http://www.geocities.com/bluelemonrising/kiss.gif  
  
  
SO! The tally is...   
ME: Lots   
YOU: Not lots  
  
Come on come on get with the program. If lazy lazy me can do it, so can YOU. While I enjoy writing and (occasionally) drawing, I'd rather read other people's stuff too. Not to be on my high horse and get all whiny and everything, but please?   
  
Aroo! 


	19. Council

"Well?" Helaine asked impatiently. "Let's do it."  
  
"What about Crow?" Pixel reminded her. "We can't just leave her."   
  
"You have to decide quickly," Oracle said. "The Portal only stays open a few minutes."   
  
"I want to go." Helaine picked her sword up off the table, where level-headed Pixel had left it for her. She hefted the steel in her healed hand for a second, then stepped towards the door. "Come with me Score."   
  
"Why me?" He half-whined.   
  
"Because I need you. Let's go. Pixel will take care of Crow, and I've got the agate, so we can communicate throughout the council."   
  
"She's right. You two go." Pixel nodded. "I can always bring you both back if things get crazy."   
  
Score looked fearfully at the Portal, unsure whether he really wanted to go, but let Helaine grab his hand and pull him through anyway. The last thing he saw was Pixel's grin, before the light closed over Dondar.   
  
"Impressive," Helaine commented. Score turned around to face a massive tiered arena. Wizards and creatures of varying colors and temperaments bustled about among the tiers, greeting each other distastefully or joyfully.   
  
"Come on then" Helaine tugged at his hand, which she had not dropped, and led him down the stairs towards the center of the arena. A nasty looking young man with thinning hair marched down before them. When they were about sixteen rows from the center, an invisible wall seemed to stop him from going any farther. He knocked against the solid air for a few seconds, then slid into the aisle to find a seat next to a displeased watery-looking fellow.   
  
Score waved his hand tentatively where the shield had been. Nothing stopped him from going through, so he let Helaine lead him on. All around the arena, other people and creatures were being blocked by invisible barriers at various points on the stairs. Apparently, the room was set up to place people of the same levels of magic on the same tiers. The closer they got towards the center, the fewer seats around the small circular center there were, and the more Score felt the eyes of the other magicians on him. He looked back as they passed the fifth-to-last row and saw one witch staring calculatingly at him, as though she was trying to memorize his face.   
  
The distance between the tiers grew greater, as the chairs for the occupants grew grander and more luxuriant. Passing the third-to-last row, Score heard a whisper, something about the Triad, something else about Sarman.   
  
Helaine seemed to hear none of the rumors, nor care about the stares. She plunged past the third row and gave a little nod to one older gentleman, who snorted violently at the sight of two youngsters heading for the bottom two tiers. She halted shortly before the second row, however, when a sharp-nosed young woman bolted up from her seat and blocked the path.   
  
"Excuse me," Helaine said, with an almost polite smile "my friend and I would like to get past."   
  
"Wait!" The witch grabbed Helaine's arm. "You can't really mean to go down there."  
  
"And why not?" Helaine asked coldly. Her grip on Score's hand tightened, and he winced. Had she utterly forgotten about him?  
  
"No one has been able to get to the first tier since the Triad. I promise you, the barrier will stop you." She wasn't really all that bad-looking, mused Score. Except for that nose thing.   
  
Raising an eyebrow, Helaine gently pushed the other woman out of the way. "Then let the barrier stop us. Come on, Score." She tugged on his hand again and stepped down. Score could see where the wall would spring up, invisible, and turn them back. Two stone gargoyles sat guarding a small landing between the second and first levels. Score could feel it in his belly, they would be turned back.   
  
Helaine seemed to know where the barrier would be too, because she paused just short of it. She turned to him, blonde hair looking slightly bedraggled. "We can make it, Score." She whispered. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled. "Have a little faith."   
  
He almost laughed. "You have enough for the both of us." He looked down at the inner tier. The seats were more like thrones, and no one occupied their lush abundance. "You really think we belong down there?"   
  
"We can do anything." She laced her fingers through his snugly and gave his hand another squeeze. Score turned his head around to the rest of the arena. Every pair of eyes seemed to be on them.   
  
"They don't think we can."   
  
Following his gaze, Helaine looked up for the first time at the hundred or so rows behind them. She surveyed the crowd for a long, pleasing minute, then turned back to Score with a feisty grin, her eyes on fire. "Damn them."   
  
With a flick of her hair she turned and strode triumphantly past the gargoyles, Score keeping pace with her long strides. There was no barrier. A flurry of whispers fanned across the arena, surging in volume until Score and Helaine finally sat down in two of the voluminous chairs. Helaine finally dropped Score's hand, and at the same moment, a bright light shot up from the center of the floor. The various participants quieted, and soon, a low, husky voice began speaking.   
  
"Welcome" it said "to the Wizard's Council." There was a pause, and a large hourglass materialized on stage. It turned itself over. "Five minutes."   
  
The light dimmed, but the hourglass remained, sand shimmering as it touched the bottom glass. Score stuck out his hand to Helaine "Pleased to make your acquaintance, miss." He laughed and shook her hand vigorously. "My name is Score, who are you?"   
  
"Renald, as always" she reminded him cautiously. Real names were rather dangerous. She waved a hand towards the second level. "I'm sure they're all dying to meet us, and it couldn't hurt to know the second-best wizards in the Diadem."   
  
Score rose at this and followed Helaine back up to the second tier. Instantly, a cluster of wizards formed around them. There were perhaps only six or so inhabitants at this level, and judging from their actions, they all knew each other from previous encounters. An older man, hobbling on a cane, actually offered to shake hands with Score.   
  
"The name is Grobbs," he wheezed. "And, since this is probably my last council, I'd just like to say what an honor it is to see you again, Eremin and Traxis. We all thought you were gone for good."   
  
"I am not Eremin." Helaine arched her shoulders back in a show of royalty. "And she is gone for good."   
  
Grobbs looked surprised. "Truly? You look so much alike." His palsied left hand began to shake. "I don't recall having seen you at a council before." He frowned.   
  
Score shrugged. "We don't get out much."   
  
"But tell me, what news have you heard of Sarman?" The sharp-nosed woman again. "We haven't seen him in a decade or so."   
  
"He is...incapacitated." That was one of Score's father's mob terms. Generally, it meant someone had been whacked.   
  
"Interesting. But tell me. Who are you, if not the Triad?" A rotund little man with beetle eyes posed this question.   
  
"I am Renald of Ordin, this is Score of Earth. We currently reside on Dondar."   
  
"Garonath's planet yes? He used to be in the third tier, awhile back. He stopped coming years and years ago. Have you heard from him?" Grobbs finished his question with a fit of coughing.   
  
"In a way. But now, it is our turn." Helaine turned a steely eye towards the gathering. "Who are all of you?"   
  
The sharp-nosed woman sighed. "We are the remnants of Jewel's Thirteen."   
  
"I see only seven." Score raised an eyebrow  
  
"I said remnants!" she snapped. She cooled for a second, then continued. "Once, we were the personal guards and advisors to the Triad. We governed the outer provinces of the Diadem and kept the others in check."  
  
"You, Lady Splendor, never were" a thin, aging woman glared bitterly at the younger girl. "Your grandfather was, and you inherited the bloody position long after they kicked us out for treason. You just like to sit with us at the councils and show off."   
  
The Lady Splendor, if indeed that was her name, turned a critical eye to the older woman. "If we only count members who actually served the Triad then only you and Old Grobbs would be hanging around." The others nodded at this assessment.   
  
"However..." the beetle-man wormed his way up close to Helaine and peered greedily into her stony face. "Perhaps, as the new rulers, you would care to reinstate the Thirteen?" His fellows murmured their approval.   
  
Helaine and Score exchanged a confused glance. Luckily, the last of the sand had slipped through the waist of the hourglass and a little chime went off, accompanied by the Council's trademark blinding white light. Score and Helaine, not having anyone other than themselves to navigate through, made their way back to the first tier quickly, and while they waited for those in the high reaches of the arena -Helaine thought she saw Oracle somewhere up there- Score took advantage of their few spare minutes.   
  
"What did you think of them?" He asked in low tones. She said something in reply, but he couldn't hear her over the din of shuffling feet and robes, and asked her to repeat. She leaned in to his ear, placing a hand on his knee for balance.   
  
"I think they're a scummy lot of scheming vultures."   
  
"A fair assessment."   
  
"What about-" The light cut Helaine off, and she leaned back into her seat. Score rubbed his eyes. Did she look regretful? The stupid light kept blinding and re-blinding him. It was almost like being in school, only with the blasted light instead of a bell to tell him what to do.   
  
The voice from before spoke sharply, almost reprimanding Score for his comparison. "The Lady Gossamer is granted the floor." A stately old woman with the air of authority disappeared from somewhere in the third tier and reappeared in the central floor, standing about eye-level with Helaine.   
  
"Greetings," she began, in a rusty accent that suggested no language still spoken was native to her. "As the oldest attending member, I am allowed first voice." Some spell must amplify her speech, Helaine thought bemusedly, or else the people in the back wouldn't hear her. "With this great honor and privilege, I..." Helaine tuned the woman out as she listed some boring titles and pledges. "...and so, after dutiful consideration, I choose to open this council with this: who are the young people in the first tier?"  
  
Score shuddered as he again felt every eye turn to him and look him over. The assemblage muttered and murmured as the old crone reappeared back in the third tier, the general consensus seeming to be that this was a worthy and interesting question, and ought to be answered. With that in mind, Score hopped down onto the floor. This seemed to shock people, as though he ought to have transported himself down by some other means. Looking up at the mass of faces, Score froze for a moment. Helaine gave him a double thumbs up and grinned.   
  
"Listen up. I'm Score, that's Renald, and Pixel is baby-sitting back home. We're not interested in taking over the Diadem. We're not interested in moving in on your turf. What we'd really like to be left alone. Oh, and we're also not the Triad." Feeling pleasantly satisfied, Score turned to climb back up to his seat, when he remembered one last thing. "By the way, the blinding-light thing really sucks."   
  
As if to make a point, the lights blared. Score frowned, then returned to sit next to Helaine. "You were brilliant!" She said, with a locked-in laugh. She actually sounded genuinely pleased.   
  
"You think so?"  
  
"I usually do."   
  
Score stared at Helaine unabashedly, and she stared back, just as bold. A man taking the center interrupted them, but he proved to be wholesomely boring. Something about lifting the ban on travel to some planet...or something...  
  
"This is rather boring." That was Helaine, whispering again. "I thought it would be rowdy and bustling, but instead there is all this silly protocol and absolutely no ballyhoo." Her lips caught the edge of his ear on the last syllable of 'ballyhoo' and Score shivered.   
  
A small apparition tugging on his pant hem distracted Score. He looked down, and saw what appeared to be a mini-Oracle, albeit a slightly more solid one, gazing up anxiously.   
  
"She wishes to speak to you, please."   
  
"Who does?" Helaine bent down to get a better look at the figure.   
  
"SHE does." The emphasis on the pronoun was marked, and bordered on adulation. "Please follow me."   
  
Helaine and Score exchanged a glance, then a shrug. "Lead away."   
  
The small creature traced a tall rectangle in the air and a door solidified. It opened the door and waved them through.   
  
A young woman with a tumble of curly black hair stood with her back to them in a large room devoid of furnishings, bordered on all sides by large panes of glass. Outside the windows sunlight trickled through blue-green water, and fish of all sizes swam ignorantly. She did not turn around.   
  
"Well," she said, tiredly, "you've finally come back."  
  
There was a long pause, and Score finally ventured a question. "Come back where?"   
  
The woman turned around. She couldn't have been very old, but her eyes brimmed with the sorrow of one who has seen far too much. She stared blankly at Score and Helaine, then spread her hands wide, indicating the watery abyss around her.   
  
"Home."  
  
  
  
  
*****  
  
Happy New Year everybody.   
Everything will be made clear in chapter twenty, with a few hasty thank-yous and explanations in order then.   
In the meantime, count your blessings, and be glad you didn't have two funerals to attend in the past week. Take care of yourselves, and I'll update when I'm feeling better.   
  
Much aroo, but with little exclamation. 


	20. Bryndis

"What do you mean, home? Who are you, anyway?" Helaine returned. The strange woman glided across the distance between them and reached out with a long pale arm as if to touch Helaine's face. Helaine swiped at the woman, only to find her hands passed right through her gauzy sleeve and the arm beneath. She sliced her hand through the other woman a few more times, as if to make sure she hadn't made a mistake the first time.   
  
"You're another apparition, aren't you? Her hands go right through you." Score accused.   
  
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Or is it that my arm goes through her hands, and you are the apparitions?" She waited while Score and Helaine exchanged confused looks. "Don't worry, I know the answer. You are real, and I am not." Her voice was lachrymose and she punctuated her statement with a sigh.   
  
"Er... I'm sorry?" Score attempted. "But why did you want to speak to us?"   
  
"I suppose you don't know the story. Your story. Our story, really, but mostly yours. You might as well sit down and be comfortable. It's a rather long tale."   
  
"Exactly where would you have us sit?" Helaine asked patiently. The woman frowned.   
  
"Don't you have any imagination? Just sit!" She demonstrated by bending her knees and a ratty green armchair appeared. Score shrugged and pretended he was sitting on the blue couch from their castle on Dondar. It materialized beneath him, and Helaine was content to sit next to him.   
  
"My name is Bryndis the Wanderer. You are some reincarnation of the Triad, that much I know."  
  
"Some incarnation? We're the incarnation. Well, plus Pixel." Helaine corrected Bryndis, a trace of arrogance coming through.   
  
"You think this is the first time the Triad have hid themselves in the far reaches of the Diadem?" She examined their faces. "You do. I see. I have more to explain then I previously thought." She sighed again, and Score fidgeted. "Perhaps you have names? I don't suppose you still go by Traxis and Eremin?"   
  
"No. Never. We aren't them." Helaine's words were laced with disgust. "My name is Renald. This is Score. Not Eremin and Traxis. Not in a million years"   
  
"Pity. The old names were so beautiful, in the Tongue. But I suppose they seem tainted to you. Never mind that. Renald and Score most likely aren't your real names anyway." Neither Helaine nor Score chose to reply, and Bryndis seemed to accept their silence as an affirmative.   
  
"Instead of alluding to all this stuff we don't know, why don't you just tell us the story and get it over with?" Score burst out finally. Bryndis initially looked surprised, then smiled warmly.   
  
"Of course. I will try to be clear, but please, stop if you have questions."   
  
"Wait!" Helaine half-rose out of her seat.   
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What about Pixel? He should be here for this. He'll probably understand it better than Score and I too."   
  
"That can be arranged. Do you have an agate, or would you like to borrow one?"  
  
"We're set, thanks." Score replied as Helaine fished through her pocket. She retrieved the gem and called Pixel forth in her mind.   
  
*Pixel?*  
  
*Hi Helaine. Crow and I were just planting some-*   
  
Helaine cut him off. *Listen, we think you should be with us to hear something.*   
  
*But what about Crow?*   
  
A new voice cut in. *It is possible, if you wish, to be here merely in mind and not in physical presence*   
  
Score glared at Bryndis. "How could you hear her thoughts?"   
  
"No telepathy is ever entirely secret." She smiled gently a little. "Especially not to projections like me."   
  
*What do I do?* Pixel interrupted.   
  
*Relax. I'll guide you* Bryndis closed her eyes and a moment later a rather ghostly version of Pixel 'popped' onto the couch between Score and Helaine.   
  
Pixel looked at his semi-transparent limbs and grinned. "So this is what it's like to be Oracle." He sobered. "Actually, this is an interesting technique. When my eyes are open, I can see the azaleas we're planting, but when I shut them, I see the three of you. Quite handy."   
  
"Pixel, this is Bryndis. But she's not real, by self-admission." Score gestured to the woman, not really sure if he trusted her.   
  
"And I am about to recount a history. Are you settled?" The three nodded. "Then away we go."   
  
  
"Your tale begins with my youth. I was born almost three thousand years ago in the six hundred and third year of the Great Peace on the planet Jewel. My parents were farmers, and we had a steading far to the north of the City. I was named Amaruit, and a horse's kick when I was four nearly killed me, and crippled my brain. When I was eleven, I began showing signs of the gift, and a wizard decided to repair my head. My parents sent me to the Academy the next month and I didn't see them for the another fourteen years."  
  
"Academy?" inquired Pixel.   
  
"Yes. As you are probably aware, magical inclinations begin to show themselves around the age of ten or so. It was custom during the Great Peace for all those so gifted to be trained at the Academy, under careful instruction. We were the guardians of the peace."   
  
"School for magicians, got it." Pixel nodded. "Continue."   
  
"I need not regale you with tales of my school days. All that is worth mentioning is that it was at the Academy I met Nantor, Traxis, and Eremin."  
  
"But you said this was thousands of years ago... the Triad lived until just recently!" Pixel interrupted again.   
  
"The Triad you refer to are mere shadows of the originals. Nantor, Traxis, and Eremin were my closest friends at the Academy. We were inseparable. My friends were vibrant and loving and wonderful..." Bryndis trailed off as though she could see her schoolmates just behind the couch. After a moment she snapped herself out of her reverie and continued. "They had their flaws, of course. But that is what makes us human. In our final year at the Academy, however, we were expelled."   
  
"Expelled? For what?" Score asked. Bryndis sighed again. She really needed to knock it off.   
  
"One of the things that made the Great Peace so...peaceful... was the High Council. They kept order by having strict regulations on magic and magic-users. Most of the regulations were designed to keep magic locked away. And the four of us, we disagreed with it. We thought magic should be available for everyone. So, we were expelled."  
  
"Sounds pretty...harsh."   
  
"If they knew what we could do, they would have killed us. We were four, strong together, with an intense dislike of the High Council. We fled Jewel and created a new planet for ourselves. It was our self-imposed exile, our home, our laboratory."   
  
"This place?" Helaine asked. Bryndis nodded.   
  
"Yes. These rooms, including the Hall of the Ancients, are a planet unto themselves. We lived here for three years, planning our secret revolution. We were going to unleash the magic locked away in Jewel. We wanted to bring equality to the universe, to allow everyone access to what the High Council hid from us." She paused, then smiled to herself. "We succeeded, too. I won't bore you with the details, but we succeeded. We turned the universe on its head, unleashed Chaos. It was beautiful. We thought it perfect and evenly balanced. The High Council, of course, was furious. They did their best to gather it all up, but there was only so much they could do. The planets settled themselves in the Diadem, arranging in order of how much magic they retained."   
  
"That makes sense. The more magic a planet has, the more it is attracted to the large quantity on Jewel." Pixel nodded slowly.   
  
"Correct. After the cosmic dust settled, we were rather disappointed. We'd hoped to create a utopia, but instead, villainous creatures of all sorts were getting hold of the magic and using it to further their own evil ends. Chaos turned out to be a terrible idea, but of course, we were too young to understand. Many things are wasted on youth. Sadly, intelligence is not one of them. The Great Peace fell apart, and the Council set out to find us to put the universe back in order. We scattered, and spent four years on the run, skipping from planet to planet, only in contact telepathically. Eventually, of course, the Council captured us."  
  
"What do you mean, 'of course'?" Score interjected.   
  
"They were, as a collective body, stronger than each of us alone. And you can't run forever. When I realized we were doomed to return to their hands, I went home. I kissed my mother and father goodbye. The High Council..." she trailed off again, frowning. "They protected the innocent, but they punished the guilty. There are tortures you can't begin to imagine that they could inflict. Yet...they stayed their hand.   
  
"Once we were all rounded up, they brought us back here, to our exile planet, and asked us to restore order. We refused, the children that we were, and they brought out... this... sword." Bryndis paused, and reached out into the air in front of her. A long, black blade, wickedly serrated, gently slid into being from her memory. "The sword had a name. I'd never known a sword to have a name before, but this one did. It was..." her throat seized and she took several deep breaths before continuing, in a lower tone. "The name of the sword was Geismorte." Bryndis shuddered. "And then they took it, and they...they..." she shook uncontrollably, and buried her face in her hands. Score, Helaine, and Pixel exchanged worried glances before the woman finally finished.   
  
"They cut off our souls."   
  
"They what?" exclaimed Helaine and Pixel nearly simultaneously.   
  
"They just brought the sword down on us and they cut off our souls the devil bastards they just cut them off and suddenly we were two pieces we were fragments they cut off our souls and it hurt like the end of the world and they-" Bryndis dissolved into tears; not wracking sobs, but quiet and inescapable wetness, as though she'd cried these tears before, and they'd proven useless.   
  
After several highly awkward moments, Bryndis seemed to regain her composure. "I apologize. It was over two thousand years ago, but very... traumatic." She fished around in the air for something, found a handkerchief, and dabbed at her eyes.   
  
"Are those real?" Pixel asked, indicating her tears. Bryndis nodded.   
  
"I am more than a projection. But I'm getting there. Our story is nearly over. After... after we were separated, there were eight... eight memories of life. There were four souls, and four... oh I don't know. Compilations of muscle, bones, magic, brains, and everything else. The souls... fled. We were nothing except humanity, and the other...us... they thought it might be a good idea to kill the souls. So we fled."  
  
"We?" Pixel asked.   
  
"Yes. I am Bryndis the Wanderer, the projection of the soul of Amaruit. We all fled to the rim worlds, far away from our...remains. Because then they began to fight among themselves. I was not there, I do not wish to know their reasons, but I do know the outcome. The one who called herself Amaruit, the one who was once part of me, was murdered by the other three. However, being soulless, she possessed the ability to be reborn, in a strangers womb."   
  
"Boy does that sound familiar." Score muttered.   
  
"Eventually, the other three, now calling themselves the Triad, had learned of this trick. They slaughtered the High Council and declared themselves rulers of the Diadem. Death was absolutely no problem to them. They sent their essences back out into the Diadem, bumbled their way back to Jewel, and took hold of their former memories."  
  
"Yeah, they tried to do that to us too. But why did we fight becoming the Triad? What made us different from the presumably hundreds that had gone before us?" Pixel was frowning, his brain puzzling out the nuances of the information. Helaine was sure he would have something clever to say in another five minutes. He was wonderful like that.   
  
Bryndis smiled. "Because the souls of Eremin, Traxis, and Nantor found their way into your unborn bodies, nestled themselves in tight, and regained control. Don't you see? You're whole again. You're real." Her smile grew wider. "You have truly defeated the Triad, because you have souls."   
  
Pixel nodded. "So we do. We certainly are much nicer than the Triad we met. I don't know how much I like the idea of being some old person resurrected, but I still feel like me."   
  
"Of course you do. You're reborn. But I..." she looked down at her hands with disgust and resignation. "Amaruit is alive. You have to help me defeat her."   
  
"Why?" Helaine asked  
  
"Because she is just like the Triad: nasty, vicious, and cruel." Pixel explained. "And, if I understood your story correctly, there is another task you would like us to complete."   
  
A nod. "If I can catch Amaruit on the ethereal plains, then we can destroy the Diadem together."  
  
"Whoa...whoa... maybe Pixel can help me out here. Why do we want to destroy the Diadem?" Score rubbed his forehead. Way too much thinking.   
  
"Because, it's the Diadem that enables tyrants and dictators. I'm guessing... correct me if I'm wrong, Bryndis, that the original system the Council had worked out was one where only wizards who had gone through the Academy could tap into the reserves of magic. Only people who could be trusted were allowed access to power. That was how they created the Great Peace."   
  
"Correct again. Sadly, they failed to explain human nature to us. We thought everyone deserved magic. Oh, the misguided, youthful fools that we were." She shook her head solemnly.   
  
"So, you want us to rearrange the universe. That's a pretty tall order." Score said, leaning back into the couch, his neck rather stiff. He really hated long stories with confusing names and complicated plots.   
  
"Not as of yet. I took advantage of the annual wizard's council to bring you here, to see if you truly were real, and to tell you the story. But now, we have to wait for Amaruit. She's lurking somewhere out in the Diadem, biding her time. She will strike soon, I am sure. But until we know where she is, there is nothing I can ask you to do...except wait."   
  
"Oh. So the point of that whole long story was that you're going to need a hand sometime in the near future? Geeze." Score stretched out his legs. He was really cramping up now.   
  
"It is quite useless trying to irritate me, Score. I'm a soul. You can't irritate souls." She smiled wryly. "I suppose you'll be wanting to get back to the annual council..."   
  
Helaine groaned. "So...boring...."  
  
"...but I shall keep in touch with you all."   
  
"I, for one, would be very interested in learning more about the structures under which the magic was contained." Pixel rambled on about some theories he had, while Score and Helaine stiffly made their way towards the door back to the Hall of the Ancients.   
  
"It's a lot to think about, huh?" Score asked, once they were seated again.   
  
"I'd rather not. Do you realize what this woman is asking us to do? She wants us to kill her other half so she can catch up with it somehow, which WE apparently already managed, then we have to wait however long it takes for her to grow up, and THEN we have to muck around with the Diadem. How does she know we'll do all this for her?"  
  
"You know the answer as well as I do." Score looked out into the center circle. A portly man was droning on about the importance of castle upkeep.   
  
"We have souls. Yeah." Helaine sighed, and rolled her neck to try to work some life into her muscles. "I can't believe Oracle thinks this is interesting," she muttered.   
  
Score laughed. "Do you want to go home?" He asked.   
  
"Terribly much so."   
  
"Okay then, we're out of here." Together, they created a Portal to Dondar with surprising ease, and emerged into their own sunlit courtyard. Helaine turned to Score with a look he recognized as being one of bossy impatience.   
  
"Promise me something" she begged.   
  
"Anything." He replied, rather hastily.   
  
"Promise me we never go back."   
  
"Absolutely. As I recall, you dragged me there. So really, it's your fault." Score grinned wickedly. Helaine stepped away from him and glared.   
  
"You should have stopped me!"  
  
"You put me through all that boredom, just because-"  
  
On the other side of the courtyard wall, Pixel heard them bickering, and veritably beamed. Despite a most peculiar revelation and a history that spanned thousands of years, things actually seemed back to normal.   
  
  
  
  
*****  
Another Painfully Long Author's Note (sorry)  
  
No, I am not ashamed of waiting until now to post, and I will not make excuses.   
This chapter sort of...brings it all together. I know it took a couple thousand words to get here, but I guess I was fishing around inside the characters to get used to them. Bryndis/Amaruit is sort of like the snowball to get things going (Ever read Hamlet? Think the ghost). If I were smarter, I would have started this in media res, as they say, and not bothered with some of the earlier junk. Oh well.   
  
  
As for some criticism brought forth by Luna of chapter 19, I suppose I should defend myself. It has been my personal observation that with Helaine, it's all about power. She's used to being the subordinate sex, and (as much as she protests in the third book), the things that make her the happiest involve her asserting her dominance over other people, over nature, over challenges, etc.  
  
I do not see Helaine as being unreasonably OOC in 19. Sitting in the front tier of the council, a show of power, boosts her mood somewhat. Also, you will notice that what Score (and you, Luna) interpret as forwardness, could simply be Helaine being...Helaine. Score is a horny teenage boy, we can expect overreaction from him. Now, if it was Helaine narrating her own "forwardness" I do not think it would come off quite the same.   
  
And, lastly, as for the thumbs-up, I'll admit it, I goofed. But is it so difficult to think that after four or five years together, Helaine (and Pixel as well) hasn't picked up some of Score's gestures?   
  
Anyway, it was appreciated, I'll be careful, and I hope you enjoy chapter 20. It might be the last one for a short span, just because I feel like it.   
  
  
Oh, and as a plug, Luna updated and Tseecka Akeunah wrote a new story. I'm so happy I could burst. Read their stuff and bugger off and write your own. You know you want to...  
  
Aroo! 


	21. Azaleas

Score, with Helaine a half-step behind, found Pixel and Crow in a dirty, sweaty mess, fighting azaleas just outside the courtyard. The azaleas, it seemed, were winning. Score's skin tingled pleasantly in the warm late afternoon sun, and he surveyed his muddied friend with a grin. He was about to toss a terribly witty (at least in his opinion) barb when Helaine poked him.   
  
"Does Crow seem...older...to you?"   
  
Score looked, and blinked. The short hair was longer, the movements more certain, and whatever trace of baby fat had clung to the ribs of the skinny orphan appeared completely gone. Crow seemingly had aged two or three years in the last handful of hours. Before Pixel or Crow looked up to notice the two, Helaine pulled Score back into the shade around the corner of the wall. Her face was flushed and mottled and she spoke with undertones of urgency.   
  
"How long has she been with you two?" She prompted: "I was gone a little over a week... can't be more than that. I was wondering...the goblins, they have short life spans... maybe she'll age like they do?"   
  
"No" Score shook his head "because she looked the same for the entire time, until just now. It's almost like something triggered it. I think maybe -" Score didn't finish his thought, because Crow rounded the corner and faced him.   
  
"Hello Score, Hello Helaine. I trust you had an enjoyable journey?" Her lips curved around the words in an almost sensual manner, sans the childish pronunciation she'd previously displayed.   
  
"Er..." Score's jaw bobbed a bit.   
  
"I was thinking, I don't believe we were introduced under perhaps the best of circumstances. I am Helaine of Ordin." With an unusually gracious smile, Helaine extended a callused palm and shook the younger girl's hand.   
  
"I was once called Crow, by my runner. It fits." Crow's eyes flitted bashfully down to the ground.   
  
"Runner?"   
  
Crow looked up all at once brimful of sorrow and fear. "I... I... he..." she stammered, sliding in and out of her peculiar dialect. Helaine firmly grasped Crow's shoulders and stared intently. Score fumbled about by himself, catching the edge of what the girls were trying to convey, but unable to understand what exactly Helaine was sharing with Crow.   
  
At last Helaine released Crow's shoulders, and the smaller girl looked up with her wide almond eyes. Score coughed a little, and both turned to him sharply, as though he was intruding. He reached out to Helaine in his mind. *Is everything okay?* he asked hesitantly.   
  
*No! The poor girl! I can't even imagine the... misery. Did you know?*  
  
*I guessed. Pixel wouldn't believe me. I don't know how to help her.* Score sighed mentally.   
  
*I do.* Helaine didn't look at Score as she thought, but down at the top of Crow's thin indigo hair. *She's never had a mother.*   
  
Something in the way her thoughts came across gave Score reason to pause. With a surprising jolt of intuition, he replied *Neither have you.*   
  
Now Helaine looked up at Score, with a softness he'd missed in all the other thousand times he'd gazed at her face. She smiled, and said aloud. "That is why I understand." She turned her face to Crow, and gently touched the girl's blue-purple tangles. "Can I braid your hair?" Helaine asked, with a sort of gruffness that passed, for Helaine, as friendly. After slight hesitation, Crow nodded, and Helaine led her away towards the castle, talking about some princess with hair so long it was hung out a tower window and a prince climbed up it.   
  
Score pinched himself. Helaine, his Helaine, dirty, fighting, cussing, passed-as-a-boy warrior Helaine wanted to talk HAIR? He pinched himself again. This second pinch was not followed by a third because he realized, after a little application of logic, that Helaine wasn't really interested in braids and princesses. She was caring about a lost and lonely girl. Score gingerly reached for his newest piece of information, and wrapped his mind around an image of little-girl Helaine, growing up under the heavy hand of a father. Somehow, it didn't surprise him.   
  
Pixel, at this point curious as to why his returning friends had not yet come to greet him, bumped into a deep-thinking Score as he rounded the corner. 'Score', 'deep', and 'thinking' were typically not words he strung together, so he stopped and shook the other boy's shoulder.   
  
"Score?"  
  
"How is it Crow looks ten instead of seven?" The earth boy asked bluntly.   
  
"You noticed it too, huh? It started as soon as you made contact with me from that council meeting, the one with Bryndis, and stopped when I broke the contact. Very strange. We could hear her bones expanding and muscles stretching."  
  
"Like she tapped into some Miracle-Gro when we opened that channel. But she wasn't part of it, was she?"  
  
"Miracle-Gro?" Pixel shielded his eyes from the slanting rays of the sun and then stepped into the growing shadow with Score.  
  
"Never mind. The question is, why? I don't suppose she said anything to you."   
  
"Of course not. All of the sudden, she's asking me where to put the next azalea with proper grammar. I wish she would open up to us."  
  
"Relax, Pixel, it's only been a week. Besides," Score hazarded a glance up towards the castle, "I think Helaine may be taking care of that." He quickly summarized Helaine's encounter with Crow, and the conclusion he had reached.   
  
"Interesting, isn't it?" Pixel asked, finally, stepping out of the shade, back towards his azaleas.   
  
"What's interesting?" Score demanded.   
  
"You told us your mother was dead. Helaine's apparently is as well. I spent more time picking dirt out of my fingernails than with my mother."  
  
"So?"  
  
"The three of us. We're all motherless. Now Crow too."  
  
"I don't see what you're getting at."  
  
"Hm. It was just an observation. But now I have a question for you." Pixel's frowned in thought before offering up his query. "What about Destiny?"   
  
"What about our favorite psycho bitch?" Score leaned against the wall casually.   
  
"Well, if the reason why the Triad could be reborn again and again was because they were soulless, then how did they do it with Destiny?"  
  
"I wouldn't put it past her to not have a soul. Let's not forget she killed her own sister."   
  
"I don't think so. She said the Triad was experimenting with the person-to-baby form, remember?"  
  
"She was probably lying, Pixel."   
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Pixel, snap out of it. Destiny was super-insane, stop trying to defend her." Score paused, and added mischievously "Besides, I thought you'd gotten over her when she tried to murder you."  
  
Pixel flushed hotly at the memory and cleared his throat. "Whatever. I just don't think Bryndis is telling us the whole truth." He shrugged indifferently and turned back towards his azaleas. Score watched his retreating friend from the cool shade of the courtyard wall, fingered the stubble on his chin, and decided it was finally time to shave.   
In the reflection of the porcelain framed mirror, Helaine could see Crow perching stiffly on the bed, hands flitting on her lap. After searching through many drawers in her trunk, she had recovered only a no-nonsense horse curry comb and a string from one of her rabbit snares. Helaine snorted in dissatisfaction. Finding trousers comfortable and embroidery mind-numbing should not be a death sentence for her femininity. And yet, she realized, as she took mental inventory, not a dratted bit of pink or lace lurked anywhere on or around her person.   
  
"Well, then." Helaine muttered, turning to reveal the curry comb and twine treasures she'd found. Crow looked blank.   
  
In a flash of inspiration, Helaine remembered something, and used her sapphire to nab a few items from Score's room. A worn black comb and a squat blue jar bobbed in and settled themselves on the bedside table. Helaine tossed the jar to Crow, who untwisted the lid and made a face at the goo inside.   
  
"I always knew that boy spent more time at his toilet than I." Helaine smiled. Crow dabbed her finger in the hair gel and stuck and unstuck her fingers in admiration.   
  
"What is it?" she asked, sniffing her fingers. "Can I eat it?"  
  
"I don't think so. Score...puts it in his hair..." Helaine mimed the actions she'd seen the earth boy do while preening in front of a mirror. "And it sticks up." She wrinkled her nose. "An odd thing."   
  
Crow wiped her hands on her pants and handed the smelly ointment back to Helaine. "Show me?" She inquired timidly. Helaine stared down into the jar. It, rather impolitely, stared back.   
  
"Oh, all right." She muttered, almost to herself. It was smooth and cool to the touch of her fingers, and she rolled a glob of it around before dispersing it along a small strand of her long blonde hair. Helaine attempted to make it stand straight up, like a unicorn, but the strength of the goo gave out and her horn flopped halfway through, smacking her wetly on the forehead.   
  
Helaine cussed mildly, and heard a strange titter. She looked up.   
  
Crow laughed.  
  
In an apparently entirely unrelated incident in a musty, forgotten corner of the Diadem, something beautiful bloomed.   
*****  
A/N  
After the "BLIZZARD OF 2003!!!" (as they like to call it in these parts) I happily settled into writing this chapter. It's sort of a sleeper, I'll admit, but it's important in the long run. Crow's nature is very deliberate, on my part, and all will be revealed in good time. As for Helaine, she's inadvertantly healing herself, instead of Crow, but ALL IN GOOD TIME. I promise. Pinky-swear, even.   
  
And, briefly, I'd just like to say that I LOVE my reviewers, you are all AMAZING and you've really kept me going. And to the other authors in this section: Keep writing, you're beautiful, don't let your stories (and the struggling Diadem section) stagnate and fester. If anyone needs a beta or help with a creative block or just some encouragement, I'm always on the other end of an email.   
Aroo! 


	22. Redux

After several giddy seconds, Helaine and Crow both reapplied their stoicism and moved on, but under a lighter atmosphere. Crow bounced off Helaine's bed and began rummaging through her trunk. Helaine bit the inside of her cheek, and reminded herself that she was trying to earn Crow's trust, and snapping at her would not be beneficial.  
  
Crow unearthed a multitude of various sharp objects designed for man- killing (mostly presents from the boys), but somewhere near the bottom she managed to find a large signet ring.  
  
"What's this?" she asked inquisitively.  
  
Helaine took the object from the girl. It was engraved with her initials and a unicorn, and felt weighty in her hand. "My seal." She ran her fingers around the grooves, but did not put it on.  
  
"S'pretty." Crow commented, entranced by the flashing metal. It wasn't terribly clean. Helaine had hid it on her person the first night she'd met the boys on Treen, certain the unicorn, a symbol of grace and beauty, would betray her sex. She hadn't thought to put it on since. There was something enticing about its smooth, cold feel in her hands, and she was reminded of the heavy thud it made when she stamped it into hot wax on her letters and the authority it granted her over Votrin Keep - under her father, of course. It was a sign of power, and it sang to her.  
  
Helaine's head snapped back. What was she thinking about? "Do you want to try it on?" She asked Crow, extending the signet on the palm of her hand.  
  
Completely missing the solemnity of the occasion, Crow snatched it up, but was unable to fit it on any of her fingers -not even her thumb. Helaine smiled, and retrieved the ring. She beaded it on the rabbit-snare string and looped the ends around Crow's neck, making a short necklace for the girl.  
  
"There." Helaine smiled a little bitterly. Delusions of grandeur didn't belong in her head.  
  
"Where'd you get it?" Crow rolled away from the chest and sprang, feline, back onto the bed.  
  
"I was a princess once."  
  
"Once?"  
  
"I gave it up. Ran away. Came here." Helaine tugged on a strand of her hair.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know. Destiny, I guess."  
  
"But...But Score said Destiny was a wicked bitch." Crow tilted her head inquisitively, looking for a brief second like her namesake.  
  
"Young ladies don't use the word 'bitch'. And yes, Destiny the person was evil, but the destiny I speak of is more of a concept." Crow tried the forbidden word out again, but after a stern look from Helaine, shut her mouth. Helaine continued. "Destiny is... is this idea that when you're born, certain things will happen to you, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. Some people think you're a slave to your destiny, some people don't believe in it."  
  
"What do you believe?"  
  
Helaine stared hard at the girl. There was something to be deciphered here. She felt as though she'd reached an invisible crossroads. The road she picked was bound to be important. Bound to be.  
  
"Destiny, I guess, is how we connect events. How we explain why we're here. If I became a warrior, then it was my destiny to do so. But I think destiny is something best understood after it has been fulfilled."  
  
"So we are in control of our own lives?"  
  
"As much as we can be. But some things... some things can only be explained by fate."  
  
Crow came close to Helaine. Her eyes looked strangely shiny. "Was it my destiny to come here?"  
  
Helaine shrugged. "You're here, aren't you? It must be."  
  
"Was it my destiny to..." Crow choked a little. "...to be a...a... girl- toy? To be -"  
  
"No" Helaine hastily cut the girl off. "Of course not. It is never anyone's destiny to do... what you had to. That is the product of human evil, not destiny."  
  
"But why?" An unchecked tear traveled down Crow's brown cheek.  
  
"I don't know." Helaine reached for Crow, taking her hand gently. "It's a bad seed inside us all. Some rejoice in it."  
  
Crow shuddered. "Aren't there any good people?"  
  
"We have to fight the monster inside us. It will never tire, never die, but we can't give up."  
  
"How do you do it, then?" Crow asked with a small sniff.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Fight the evil in yourself, and the evil in everyone else?"  
  
Helaine opened her mouth, then stopped herself. How indeed? Why did she and the boys war against power-hungry wizards? It was more than just survival, it was-  
  
Pixel opened the door to her bedroom, shaking up her thoughts. "Helaine, can I talk to you for a quick second?" He asked. Helaine nodded, waving him in. Pixel threw a glance at Crow, saw the girl's somber face, and continued.  
  
"Listen, I know... I know you don't want to hear this."  
  
"Just tell me." Helaine dropped Crow's hand and reached for the dagger she kept in her boots.  
  
"It's about Dorian."  
  
Helaine drew the dagger, marveling as she always did at the clean lines, the razor edges.  
  
Pixel took her silence as a signal to continue, and did so. "Well, I cast a magical tag on him, so he'll show up on our map."  
  
Carefully, Helaine pressed the flat edge of the dagger into her palm.  
  
"And I was planning on letting be until you decided what you wanted to do... but..." Pixel paused for a breath. "Well, he's back at Shanara's castle."  
  
A flicker of pain as the sharp edges of the dagger sank into the flesh of her palm.  
  
"I just thought... we should warn her. When Score and I brought you back, we didn't give much of an explanation. Shanara might be in trouble."  
  
Two bright threads of blood crawled onto the flat of the dagger. Helaine watched it amusedly.  
  
"Do you want to come with Score and -" Pixel suddenly noticed Helaine's preoccupation. "What are you doing?" He snapped. Helaine's head jolted up.  
  
"Nothing." She quickly closed her fist tight. "I'm coming with you."  
  
Pixel glared. Helaine glared back, jaw clenched, ignoring the bite of the dagger on her palm.  
  
"Maybe it would be better if you didn't go." Pixel said gingerly.  
  
"No. I owe him."  
  
"Owe him what?" Crow asked.  
  
Helaine had been perfectly prepared to say 'Death', but she held back, and looked at the girl.  
  
"Justice" she said finally, with a sigh. She withdrew the dagger from its newly-made sheath of flesh in her hand and returned it to her calf, nudging her hand to knit itself back together by speeding up time directly around it. Score chose that moment to pop into the room.  
  
"Did you tell her?" He asked Pixel, who nodded. "Right, then. Is Crow coming?" All three looked at their young charge.  
  
"I don't see why not." Helaine said coolly. "Perhaps she needs to know that the evil seed gets its due end."  
  
The boys exchanged looks, confused by her metaphor, but Crow nodded solemnly.  
  
"Then it's settled. A little family picnic."  
  
For some reason, no one laughed at Score's idea of a joke.  
  
***** And the author laughs a little nervously, unsure how the audience will react to a chapter that follows the previous by several months.  
  
Heh. Oops.  
  
Oh well, I've got another one almost done, just need to run it by some censors and such.  
  
Aroo! 


	23. Portents

"D'you think we could maybe move a little faster? My balls are freezing." Score whined, as was his custom, on the trek from the place the portal had deposited them to Shanara's gates. The others ignored him. 

The gates were soundly locked, and when Helaine tried to wrench them open magically, she received an unpleasant jolt. Pixel frowned. 

"I think Dorian has dropped all pretenses of being a gentleman." 

Helaine did not answer, but instead levitated them all over the ramparts into the courtyards by means of sapphire. It did not seem so long ago she had done something similar, when Shanara was the unknown enemy, not the damsel in distress. 

She strode purposefully into the main chambers, and came across Shanara, reposed luxuriant on several pillows and silks. She looked splendid. "Where is he?" Helaine demanded, her hand on the hilt of her sword. 

"Hello Helaine, you're looking well. Who are you searching for?"

"You know who I mean." Helaine's voice was granite. The innocent look on Shanara's face melted away. 

"So you've come back for him then?" 

"Yes" Pixel interrupted the staredown between the two women, who glared at him momentarily before continuing. 

"Yes." Helaine repeated. 

"Ungrateful bitch" Shanara snarled. "He told me what happened. Told me you tried to seduce –"

"And you BELIEVED him?" Helaine spat. "You should have—"

"You always thought you were better than me! Thought you were some brilliant witch, didn't you? You hadn't enough men already" Shanara pointed accusatory fingers that cracked with green sparks at Pixel and Score, who edged nervously out of reach  "– you had to take MINE too! You churlish harlot! Little trollop! I knew—" 

"Shut up" Helaine interrupted coldly. "I'm not going to listen to your empty-brained jawing. Where is he?" 

"You can't have him!" Shanara screeched, lunging towards the other girl. Helaine unsheathed her sword, lightning, and fell into a defensive stance before catching a glimpse of something she'd forgotten. 

Crow stood off to one side, behind Pixel, head tilted, frowning. 

Helaine turned her face back to Shanara, and held up a hand. "Stop." She said, calmly. "This is ridiculous." 

Shanara withdrew. 

"I'm not going to fight you over this. Dorian is a bastard, and he's not worth injuring you." Helaine sheathed her sword triumphantly. 

Shanara's face took on the runny look it did whenever she shape-shifted. Dorian emerged from the enchantress's figure, eliciting rather trite gasps from everyone, except perhaps Crow, who was looking admirably at Helaine. 

"Well, that's nice to know. You look positively fetching when you're angry, darling." 

Score growled, and Pixel elbowed him. 

Dorian seemed not to have heard, but Helaine looked rather surprised, cocking one eyebrow in Score's direction. 

"What makes you think I won't kill you?" Helaine asked instead. 

"Because if you do, you won't find out where I've stashed your precious shapeshifter friend. And she would die. And that nasty little animal too." 

Helaine cogitated for a minute. "Okay," she said at last. "Tell me where Shanara is." 

"No." 

*Helaine...* Pixel began. He expected her to snap at him, tell him to stay out of it, but she replied pleasantly. 

*Yes?*

*We've got Shanara on the map at home. We don't need him to tell us where she is.*

"Excellent point!" Helaine said jovially. She turned to Dorian. "I am banishing you." She opened a portal, with considerable effort, and waved towards it. "Either go through the door, or I'll kill you." 

"But what about Shanara?" He asked, confused. 

"I know exactly where you've hidden her." She narrowed her eyes "absolutely pathetic, to think you could keep anything secret from me, scum." 

*Where are you sending him?* Score asked. 

*I instructed the Portal to send him to the place he's praying he won't end up.* She laughed out loud. "That's what I do. Answer prayers." 

With Dorian on some desolate, inescapable planet on the outer rim ("it must be somewhere dreadful like Earth" Helaine managed to joke, much to everyone's surprise), the four returned to Dondar. Although a bit tired from all the recent planet hopping, Pixel eagerly offered to retrieve Shanara from the scab of a world Dorian had sent her to on the middle circuit. He had declined offers of companionship from both Score and Helaine, but elected Crow as his traveling companion. "It will do you good, to get out and see the universe."  

Pixel and Crow departed, leaving a dusty silence between Helaine and Score in the courtyard on Dondar. Score kicked at a loose paving stone, sending it scuttling into the long shadows. The soft twilight crept over the walls and nestled into corners and under trees, a complacent lavender. 

"You know, I was worried about you."

"About me?" Helaine turned an incredulous face to Score. 

"Yeah. I didn't know how you would react, to seeing...him." 

"Clearly, I behaved as a lady born." Helaine said with a sniff. Then she frowned. "Something about Crow...made me think. About how we know good from evil, and why we're one and not the other." 

"Deep thinking from someone who purports to be all brawn." Score teased, reaching out and lightly jabbing her shoulder. Helaine swatted him away irritably and continued. 

"Where do morals come from, on Earth?" 

Score shrugged. "Church, synagogue, parents. School, a little. They make a big stink about kids getting bad morals from TV and movies and stuff, but it's more like an absence of good morals, if you ask me." 

"Ah yes, your TV. I do not understand, though. Storytellers tell bawdy tales, these do not contribute much to disobedience on Ordin."

"Hah!" Score snorted. "That's because it's one thing to say 'Score stands too close to Helaine', but quite another" – he stepped towards her, pressing her elbows to her side before she could pull away or strike him – "to see it". 

They were still for a moment. 

Helaine had been closer to Score than this. On more than one occasion, a life-threatening circumstance would cause the triad reborn to fall into a heap, and more often than not, Helaine would find herself squashed under one or both of the boys. 

This was different. This was not haphazard contact. She was acutely aware of the gap between them, and stared dumbly at it until she looked up and caught Score's eye. He inhaled briefly at this unfamiliar but incredible view of her, and his belly brushed hers, closing the distance. 

Helaine burned. 

"Er... I hope I'm not interrupting anything." 

Neither Helaine nor Score seemed willing to break the gaze to look upon the visitor. Reluctantly, Score slid himself a half-pace away from Helaine and turned to see Oracle. 

"I do seem to have a penchant for being untimely." Oracle laughed at his own joke, the somber black outfit flickering slightly. 

"Got any telemarketers in the family?" Score inquired gruffly, for his own amusement. He didn't really expect the other two to know what he was talking about. 

"That isn't funny," Oracle snapped peevishly. "You know I haven't a family."

"Whoa!" Score threw up his hands in defense, stepping backwards "Relax, Oracle. I didn't mean anything by it." 

Oracle muttered a bit, then sighed. "Sorry, Score. It's just... I have some bad news."

"Tell me something I don't know." Score rolled his eyes. Helaine poked him. 

"Go on, Oracle." 

"Well, I can't vouch for this prediction personally, as I didn't make it..." Oracle gave a little sniff, as though to say that all other prophesies were inferior. "...but I'm near positive it pertains to you, and it's not very cheery. Anyway, here goes:

_And of the three who choose not to rule_

_Each against the other.__ Fallen in duel,_

_One will meet death on the end of a blade _

_The Diadem unraveled, unordered, unmade _

_Scavenging birds claim the old throne_

_Naught be left but dust and bone_

There's more, about death and pestilence and such forth, but that's the general gist." 

"And I suppose it just had to rhyme, didn't it?" Score sighed. 

"Of course." Oracle wrung agitated hands. "Look, I've thought about this for a bit...and it has to pertain to you... 'three who choose not to rule'...that's such a bizarre occurrence in the Diadem... you would have to be the only ones." 

"Say that middle part again," Helaine demanded, "about the sword."

"One will meet death on the end of a blade." Oracle obliged

"So you're saying... if this is true... we're going to start fighting..." Score pieced together the rhyme slowly.

"...and one of us will kill another?" Helaine finished for him.

"Not just anyone. Probably you. Neither Pixel nor I carry a sword everywhere we go." Score corrected her gravely. Oracle nodded. 

"Impossible" Helaine scoffed. "I don't believe it." She tossed her chin high. "I would never kill you or Pixel, no matter how you irritated me." 

Oracle shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know how accurate it is, but I just thought you should know." He waved a little. "I'm back to the post-Council party. It's really a gas. There are games and refreshments and we projections are having a "mysterious guidance" competition. We're trying to see who can be the most confusing and awe-inspiring. You ought to stop by if you get the chance." 

Helaine and Score exchanged twin looks of mock horror as Oracle 'popped' away. They both headed for the castle, equally wary and tingling. 

"Hungry?" She asked him at last. 

"Famished." He replied. It had been a long day. 

More silence. 

"When do you think Pixel will be back?" Score asked in a blurt. Helaine shook her head. 

"He said he might stay overnight when he finds her. He looked exhausted."

"We're all zombies."

"Zombies?"

"Never mind, Helaine." 

Helaine dreamt that night. It was a real dream, not an excursion to Elysia, and it seemed quite tactile. She was standing in the burnished gold and umber fields of Dondar in the late summer, and someone was speaking to her. 

"Lady Helaine Votrin, I am charging you with a task."

"Who are you?" She demanded of the faceless voice, looking around her. 

"I am the Lord of your Fathers, the Lord that came before the Houses of Ordin, who hears the prayers of the silent." The voice boomed impressively, but it was only a dream.  

"Hah! The priests invented you to keep our noses clean!" She exclaimed, heartily displeased she was dreaming about fantasies again. "I don't believe in you!"

"That is irrelevant. I have marked you as my own and you will complete this task for me."

"What is it?" Helaine asked, curiosity getting the better of her dream self.  

"You are to raise the orphan Crow in the way of God." 

"And exactly what way is that?" Helaine demanded. She knew little theology. There was a pause, and she could have sworn the voice sounded a trifle amused. 

"I am every way." 

Helaine woke because someone was screaming. She automatically lifted her sword up from the floor beneath her bed (contrary to popular belief she did not sleep with it) and chased the noise to its source in Score's room. 

The bloodcurdling cries emitted from Score himself, who was thrashing dreadfully in his sheets. The enchanted walls responded to their creator's distress, quaking and storming. Helaine glanced about for signs of any strange presence, then dropped her sword and attempted to wake him up. 

"SCORE!" She shouted, shaking him violently. He sat bolt upright, quivering and sweating and panting, as though he'd just finished wrestling with the devil. 

"What? I- the sword, shit, Helaine – and it –Helaine?" 

She conjured a bauble of light, and the whites of Score's frightened eyes reflected back at her. 

"Are you all right?" She asked anxiously, "you're delirious! What a nightmare that must have been –" 

Score snatched at her hands, which were feeling for fever on his forehead, and held them still. "It wasn't a nightmare." He said quietly. He dropped her hands and attempted to disentangle himself from his sheets somewhat.

Helaine sat on the bed next to him, and placed her palm firmly on his head. He did not object this time, but stilled under her hands. She decided he felt warm, but not unreasonably so, considering his previous state of distress, and let her hand linger. Score tossed in sheets dark with sweat, and turned away from her, knocking away her probing fingers in the process. 

"What did you dream about?" she asked after awhile, trying to keep her voice light.

"I can't tell you." He whispered bitterly. Helaine stood to go, slightly angered at the harsh tone. He must have felt the springs release as she rose, because he rolled over and snatched at her wrist desperately. "Don't go...please. Don't leave me alone. I'm sorry." 

Helaine softened. The moisture curled his hair, ringed around his pale, alarmed face, and his eyes were still wide. He didn't really seem coherent. He might not even remember this in the morning. 

She didn't move towards him, but he sat up, the sheets sticking to his wet body, and hugged her middle, pressing his cheek into her stomach. When he spoke, his words were muffled by her nightgown. "Once, you let me sleep with my head in your lap..." he trailed off, peering up into her face. She stared, incredulous, then smiled indulgently.

"Of course." She climbed on top of the sheets, relaxed against the headboard, relatively upright, and gathered his head into her lap as she had on that limousine ride in New York. She stroked his hair absentmindedly, tired once more, masking all signs that she was frightened. It scared her that something terrified Score so badly that he begged for companionship, when his natural tendency was to push his friends away in times of need.  Never mind that, as a Lady, she should never be caught in a bed not her own, but this would not be the first time she'd abandoned her modesty to save the earth boy. She looked down at him, half expecting to see him wearing a prankish smirk, ready with a quip about her lap, her nightgown, her concern. ****

Tears were leaking from his squished-shut eyes. 

Although she hadn't intended to, Helaine spent the rest of the night in Score's room. She wasted a good deal of that time dithering over his hair, his ears – all slick with sweat – as he slept. He'd lumbered off to sleep in a matter of minutes, and not a shadow of a dream seemed to have crossed him since then. Helaine, however, found herself kept awake by various thoughts. She took a deep breath, and ordered herself as best as possible. 

First, there was the matter of Score's nightmare-that-wasn't. A once notorious coward, Helaine hadn't seen Score so witless in years. She didn't like to see her friend that way, preyed upon by his own mind, helpless. It didn't fit, either, that he would turn against his habit to ask for her company, more specifically, that of her lap. She colored a little, at this thought. 

Helaine quickly turned her thoughts away to her own dream. Not nearly so unpleasant as Score's, but important, she felt. She only vaguely remembered it. Curses. Something to do with Crow... perhaps she would recall better in the morning. 

Dorian. Helaine snarled at the name, even in her own head. She opened her palm to look at the tiny twin scars from the dagger. She would never forget this. Though he was stuck on a planet of the rim world, completely alone, she still felt cheated somehow. She longed to take a sword to the devil, defeat him in real combat, crow victoriously over his fallen body...Helaine stopped herself suddenly, ashamed. It was the same feeling that had seized her when she'd glanced at Crow. Shame at her violence. Helaine's stomach clenched subconsciously and Score reacted, muttering in his sleep, casting an arm over her legs.

Score. 

Oh yes, that was a subject to be dealt with too. 

Helaine hazarded a peek at the sleeping face of her friend. She did not understand why she had acquiesced to his peculiar request. She certainly would have denied anyone else. But in the pale light of her orb, he had seemed so tortured, and she quaked with anxiety. He certainly appeared fine now; she could leave whenever she chose. All she had to do was shift his head off her lap and slip back to bed. Helaine reached down to do so, but ended with her one hand smoothing the hair around his face, and the other dabbing sweat off his nose and forehead with her sleeping gown. It wasn't that she couldn't go back to  bed, it was just that she didn't want to. Not just now. At least, that was what she told herself. 

As though he knew he was the subject of her thoughts, Score stirred a little, and Helaine got a funny feeling in the back of her throat as she watched him. He'd been acting so peculiar as of late. The scene in the courtyard returned to her: Score, a breath away, and the awful-wonderful heat in the pit of her stomach.

 She bit her lip, gently. He was a fair strange and marvelous boy, and an excellent friend and comrade. Still, something was missing. She knew she'd provoked his anger when she'd left Dondar and gotten tied up in the mess with Dorian. Perhaps that was why he'd been so odd lately; he was recovering from his fury. 

Score twitched, interrupting her thoughts. Helaine looked around at his room, at the sleeping young man in her lap, at her silly, girly nightgown. She grimaced. With any luck, he would not remember this in the morning. She didn't think she could bear to be teased about an action she didn't fully understand. Before he woke, she would sneak away, no harm done. Perhaps, after a short nap to restore her energy...

*****

Well! 3,000 odd words later, and I somehow managed to get Score and Helaine in bed with each other... though not like that, of course. 

My thoughts: reviewers = amazing! And so sorry about not updating... I have a thousand excuses, but they aren't terribly interesting. What is interesting, to me, of course, is that, condensed to paperback size, this story so far is 245 pages long, a bit longer than any of the original six. Guess I'm too wordy (35,834 to be exact) for my own good. 

And finally, I really tried to make it obvious that Helaine doesn't feel romantic towards Score. I normally don't believe in reiterating the plot in the author's notes (if the story doesn't make it clear, I'm not doing my job), but I really feel like I need to stress this point. Although Score induces pity, friendship, worry, and even a little lust, Helaine misinterprets his actions because she does not feel (or does not want to feel) anything more than friendship for him. 

That said, I think its time I start working on the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. 

Aroo!


	24. Griffin

Pixel, meanwhile, was just finishing his supper. Shanara was easily located as being on Firndl, a middle circuit planet. When he'd got to her, he found her pouting in a small cage perched at the top of a tree. Pixel used a branch as leverage and popped it open easily, and queried why the sorceress hadn't done the same thing herself. 

"It's spelled to be of a varying size... I couldn't shift out! If I was big, the cage was bigger! If I was small, the gaps between the bars were smaller! Impossible!" 

Pixel glanced at her, slightly amused. "Not every solution involves magic. That's something we've learned. Sometimes you just need good old fashioned brains – or" he added, thinking of Helaine, "-brawn." 

Shanara scowled.

After climbing down an air staircase from the tree, Shanara made nice with Crow while Pixel worked on setting up a shelter for the night. It took several tries, but eventually he rigged a few branches together into a lean-to, using his magic to make it water-proof, wind-proof, and prowling-hungry-animal-proof. He started a small fire, and Shanara shifted into a tigress to do some hunting. Crow amused herself playing in the hollow of an ancient tree. She seemed almost to be having a conversation with it. 

Shanara returned with an anonymous meat source, Pixel helped cook it, and the three sat under the canopy to enjoy a fire. "Reminds me of my times out in the wilderness with Score and Helaine" he remarked, almost to no one. "Except it usually wasn't quite this peaceful." 

"It's not this peaceful." Crow replied, casually. 

"What do you mean?" Asked Shanara, looking around her for danger. 

"We have a watcher." The girl poked the fire with a stick. "But don't worry, he won't hurt us." 

Pixel and Shanara leapt up, not mollified by Crow's reassurances. There was a rustle in the scrub and a golden creature stepped forwards. 

*The child is correct, though she overestimates my patience with humans* It was a griffin, a majestic result of odd but well-groomed bits of lion and eagle, and it was enormous. 

Pixel watched the creature carefully as it approached, padding softly on lion paws. It wasn't making any threatening moves, and it was certainly sentient, but he was wary, nonetheless. 

Shanara, however, placed her hands on her thighs and gave a short bow. "I honorably present myself, Lady Shanara of Rawn, and my companions, Pixel and Crow, both of Dondar." 

The animal gave a nod of its eagle's head and rumbled with what sounded like a purr. *It is good that some know of the old ways.* Now that it was close, Pixel could see that it was rather antique in appearance. *But I'm afraid I shall have to eat you, nonetheless.*

With a graceful, envious bound, the griffin leapt to Crow, who fell backwards with a small cry and lay supine to the beautiful teeth. Pixel panicked briefly, then shot a fireball with the Shriker Kula Prior spell at the beast's head. 

It looked up, faintly annoyed. 

"Leave her alone!" Pixel shouted. "Pick on someone who can fight back!" 

*On the contrary, good sir. I am devouring first the one who could cause me the most trouble.* The griffin turned its lovely head and fangs back to Crow, who quivered with terror. 

Pixel threw a bigger fireball, singeing its feathers. The griffin howled. 

*Do you know how long its takes me to preen every morning!*  It opened its eagle wings wide, flapping in disgust. As Pixel had suspected, the creature was terribly vain. But his fireball had worked, and the griffin charged towards him. 

Rummaging through his pockets, Pixel fingered his gemstones. He hadn't quite figured out a part two to his plan yet, but the creature was closing fast, making him careless in his nervousness. "Beryl... that's air... or is it water? Topaz... er... invisibility? Fire? Something?"  

A roar interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up to see a jade dragon, Shanara's favorite battle shape, swiping glassy claws at the griffin. Pixel laughed as the proud animal stumbled over itself, trying to get away, then turned his attention to Crow. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, giving her a hand to help her to her feet. 

"You risked your life for me?" Crow looked amazed. 

"Of course. That's being human." 

Shanara returned to human form, shook herself, and hunkered down to the fire. "I'd forgotten not all griffins are as polite as Alzar." 

"Alzar?" Pixel asked, helping himself to some more supper. 

"Alzar Blackstone. He was a griffin on the world of my childhood." 

"You mean you didn't always live on Rawn?" Pixel inquired. For all the years they'd known the sorceress, he'd never heard much about her days before she'd encountered the three of them. 

"Certainly not. There aren't any human settlements on Rawn. I was born on another middle circuit planet, called Athos. Alzar Blackstone and his clan lived on the cliffs outside my village. We gave them the mountain for their territory, and in return, the clan guarded our village from raiders." Shanara chewed thoughtfully on her meat, as though remembering some bygone days. 

"Then how did you end up on Rawn?" Pixel asked. 

"Well, when I was about thirteen, the local mage decided I had too much power, and that I was a threat to his control. He sent me away to the griffins, ostensibly for training, but he'd secretly asked them to devour me." 

"That's awful." Crow whispered, hugging her knees. 

"But Alzar Blackstone liked me, and trained me further in the ways of magic. When I was sixteen, he died, and his protection vanished. I fled to Rawn, a place Alzar told me about. That's why I so often visit the centaurs. I miss being surrounded by people." Shanara was silent for awhile. 

"I'm sorry." Pixel said, finally. 

"That's funny." Shanara said harshly. "I'm not. Why would I want to live with people who prefer me digested? Magic-users aren't much liked in the Diadem. We're judged straight away by our abilities, not our personalities."

"Yeah, Helaine and Score and I ran into some of that prejudice with the unicorns." Pixel sighed. 

"Prejudice?" Crow asked, trying out the word. 

"It's... when someone decides how they're going to treat you before they've gotten a chance to know you."

"That doesn't sound fair." Crow muttered. 

"It's not. But it exists. Just another monster to fight." Pixel watched sparks fly from the fire into the blackness of the canopy. 

"I was right though" Crow said after awhile.

"About what?"

"He _didn't_ hurt us."

Something was tickling his nose. Score cracked an eye open, and blew some of Helaine's hair out of his face with a puff of air. Her royal majesty was slumbering soundly, her back to him... in his bed? 

Score's eyes flew open wide. What? 

He took a second to evaluate the situation. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and all his bedcovers had slid to the floor. She was in a white nightgown, and one of the straps had slipped off her shoulder. Score could not believe it. What on earth happened last night? He thought hard. He definitely remembered going to bed, alone... and... his nightmare. Score shuddered. Then... waking... with Helaine, standing over him. He screwed up his face hard as he thought... in a rush it came back. He'd asked her to stay, nestled his head into her lap. Oh. She must have fallen asleep, and slipped down into his arms. Unless... 

Score was too much of a pessimist to hope. 

Knowing Helaine, she would be self-righteously embarrassed, if she woke up and found herself...the two of them... so entangled. So he closed his eyes. Let her think she arose first, and sneak off, and spare her the shame. 

He didn't have long to wait. 

Helaine expanded with a deep breath in his arms, and Score suppressed a little shiver of hormones, and tried to remember to be asleep. 

Rolling over took a lot of effort, and Helaine rested a while, watching Score sleep, until she realized where she was. She sighed and reached out to touch his cheek. "I can't imagine what you'd say to me if you were awake" she whispered. "But I almost wish I could open my eyes every morning like this." She frowned to herself. Did she really mean that? It didn't matter. Score couldn't hear her anyway. She slipped as gently as she could from his slumbering embrace, and gathered one of his sheets from the floor. She spread it over the young man and leaned in towards him, as though to kiss his cheek. 

She stopped. It felt so natural, so routine, for her to wake up next to Score. That was no reason to get all mushy over him. 

Helaine pulled away, leaving his cheek unkissed. She left. 

Score sighed and buried his face and a frustrated groan in his pillow. 

*****

This is the part where the author shamefacedly breaks out a wet noodle for lashes. 

Should I make excuses? I could. I'll spare you. 

The point is, I wrote again. Thanks go to... oh all of you. I'm too lazy to do a nice positive round today, but I would like to point out that there are THREE new Diadem stories and I am positively delighted. 

As for my story, the twenty-fifth chapter is halfway done, and I couldn't be prouder. I mean, sure, I haven't been terribly timely, but 25 chapters! With plot! And few grammatical errors! (er.... well, maybe more than a few. I try.) I do feel like I've reached the more-than-two-thirds-way point. I foresee only about five to seven more chapters... so the logical conclusion is to love it while you can! And review! I love reviews! 

Happy and Pleasantly Your Devoted Authoress

Aroo!


	25. Amaruit

Pixel and Crow returned Shanara to Rawn, and were greeted by Helaine and Score with a large and sumptuous breakfast. Score never brought up his nightmare, and neither did Helaine. Everyone settled into an easy domesticity as they waited to hear from Bryndis. 

It was two months later.

Helaine leaned eagerly over the parapet of the highest tower, tilting her head into the frisky autumn winds. The summer gold of the plains had been replaced by a resplendent and heavy bronzed blue, the sky a brilliant iced violet. Cheeks flushed, she turned to Pixel, who stood sensibly bundled out of the wind. "They're coming!" She shouted with glee, her breath snatched away in little steam puffs. Pixel rolled his eyes and handed her a warm beverage. 

"We already knew that. This—" He waved his hand at Helaine's tumbled hair, and at the brisk weather in general "—is fairly unnecessary. Flame contacted you mind-to-mind two days ago." 

Helaine ignored Pixel and sipped the malt. She loved watching the return of the unicorns, their beautiful bodies pouring from the gap in the woods like a stream of rainbows, snorting and prancing in the musky fall sunshine. Pixel enjoyed watching their pageant, certainly, but enjoyed staying warm just as much. Score on the other hand... 

Helaine turned towards him, shielding her eyes against the sun. He perched on the parapet, leaning dangerously into the wind, only his magic to keep him balanced. Helaine jumped up next to him and pulled him back to stand next to her, offering him a sip of her drink. He gulped greedily and beamed, nose starting to run from the cold. He shouted something at her over the wind that she didn't catch. 

"What?" She roared, stepping forwards onto a slick spot of moss. Helaine slipped, banging her left knee against the stone before tumbling towards the ground. Score dropped the mug and immediately jumped after her.

Now, gravity on Dondar being approximately similar to that on earth, Score knew that he, a 160 pound human in free fall, would accelerate at a rate of about ten meters per second. This meant that the thirty meters or so between himself and the ground were covered in about 2.3 seconds. Of course, this was not something he contemplated on his descent, but rather a thought that occurred much later. Luckily, this was just enough time for him to transform the ground beneath them into a deep pond. Complete with ducks. Score barely had time to register this before he splashed down into the frigid water. His body went rigid with cold shock for an instant before he burst up, gasping. Helaine surfaced next to him, spluttering. Score swam into her, knocking against her, pushing her long sopping hair out of her eyes. 

"Are you okay?" He asked, treading water, one hand clutched protectively against her back. In the back of his mind he thanked the Ninety-Second Street Y for their swim classes for "guppies". 

"You foggy idiot" she managed, coughing water. "Why did you jump after me?" 

They bobbed for a little bit while Score ran possible answers through his head. _Because I was frightened for you?__ Because I would follow you anywhere? _"Because I wasn't sure you could swim" He replied. Helaine shivered. The water was wretchedly cold. The two paddled the short distance to shore. Pixel waved down at them and disappeared, probably descending in a more conventional fashion than jumping. Helaine shook herself, a bit like a soggy dog. "Thank you." She said, impulsively throwing her arms around Score. "For saving me from a lot of broken bones and that nasty healing concoction. But next time, let's try for some warmer water." 

"Next time?" Score demanded. He felt a little dizzy. 

 "Brr" she whispered, looking up to catch his eyes even as a delightful heat spread from the pit of her stomach to her cheeks. 

In retrospect, Score realized he really had no choice. Her body, defined so clearly through her drenched tunic, pressed so nicely up against his, breathing so hotly on his face, was the cause of all the trouble. The physical contact must have started a chemical chain of reactions that were beyond his control. What resulted in no way represented any conscious action or feeling on his part, naturally. It was simply the logical conclusion to a series of events: the fall, the fear, the rescue, and...

The kiss. 

There was no time for comprehension. Their lips snagged and meshed for one thumping bumping heart beat and it was over. 

"Oh..." Helaine said finally, bright red. Score blinked, and stepped away from her. 

"I'm sorry" he said. 

"It's okay." She replied, busying her hands with her wet clothes, looking down. 

"That shouldn't have happened" he said shakily. 

"It was an accident." She agreed

"I mean, I don't..." he flushed. 

"Me either." 

"I know." 

"Fine." 

"Fine." 

They both looked down. A duck quacked. Score gave a brief look at the pond and smiled. 

"It was a pretty good idea, though." 

"The ducks were a nice touch."

"I do try."

"I know." 

More silence. 

Pixel came bounding out with two oversized towels, Crow hot on his heels with a blanket. He coated them in the towels and wrapped the blanket around them both before giving the newly made Siamese twins Score and Helaine a little shake. "That's what you get for leaping around on that old wall! I told you it was safer to watch out the window!" He shepherded the two back to the castle, while Crow pestered Score with questions about how he'd made the pond so fast. They stumbled in a mob, and at some point Helaine's hand brushed Score's. 

*There's no need to tell Pixel about...* she began

*Oh no. Definitely not.*

Helaine sat, a tad grumpy, at the kitchen window, watching the crack in the forest intently. She was dry, thanks to a spell, and perfectly safe, despite Pixel's mothering and worrying, and very, very, very preoccupied. Kisses kept popping into her mind like mental hiccups and distracting her. She thought very hard about the unicorns... how much fun it would *kiss* be to have them back in *kiss* talking distance again and how much had *kiss* happened since they'd left. Like kissing. 

"AUGHHHH!" Helaine gave a tortured yell and clumsily threw her blanket against the window. This was not terribly dramatic, so she stormed out of the room and slammed the door, just for effect. Pixel laughed a little. "I will never understand that girl." He turned to Score, only to find his friend staring at the slammed door with a distressed visage. 

"What's the matter?" He asked, only vaguely concerned. Score often looked distressed, and normally an angry Helaine broke dishes or made rocks explode, which made door-slamming quite tame in comparison. Today was shaping up to be rather mild, despite the excitement of the pond. 

"Nothing." Score muttered, equal parts melancholy and anger. In the distance Pixel heard a rock explode. 

"She got out there fast" he commented, largely to no one. Crow, who had watched this exchange with little interest, shook her head violently. 

"That's not Helaine." 

Pixel, by now used to Crow's uncanny knack of prediction, peered out the window. "You're right. It's the unicorns." At this Score managed to tear away from the door and join Pixel in admiring their hoofed friends. A sulky Helaine slipped in at one point, and stood behind Crow. The orphan was delirious with glee at the fantastic sight, a joy the other three had forgotten in their various personal woes. Eventually all came around and burst out of the castle, tumbling to touch the unicorns at last. 

But something was wrong. 

Helaine recognized this immediately. It might have been her sixth-trouble-sense, or something in the air, that tipped her off. Or it might have been the human sitting on Flame's back. Helaine blinked in disbelief as Flame trotted up and the female dismounted as though she'd been riding all her life. 

"Unicorns are not horses." Helaine spat with some disgust. 

"They shouldn't be schlepping humans around." Score agreed, moving to stand beside her, obviously disturbed. 

"Hello!" Pixel said brightly.

"Hello." The stranger returned. 

*Helaine!* Flame gushed *Isn't she wonderful? We found her just outside the herd lands and she's my best friend!*

Helaine stared, openmouthed. Score stared too. The stranger stroked Flame's nose. "Don't be mad. Do you think you could help me?" 

"Probably not." Helaine said icily. 

"We're not very useful." Score chimed in. 

"I'm sure we could help you easily. We've got lots of energy and time. Any friend of the unicorns is a friend of ours!" Pixel beamed, and took the woman's arm, leading her towards the castle. 

"Pixel you absolute goon!" Score snapped, forgetting about talking on a more private channel. "You can't just bring a complete stranger into the castle!" 

Thunder sidled up to his human friend, speaking for the first time. *She has been traveling with us for several days, and has done nothing to harm us yet. Most of the young ones absolutely adore her, although I'm not sure why.*

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Thunder." The stranger said, without the slightest snap of sarcasm. "But I would like to do this by myself. Without my magic." There was a faint hum, and suddenly it was as though a glamour had been removed. Immediately the young males in the herd stopped posturing and preening and turned their attention to their own kind. Flame sidestepped away, still cheerful, but now she bounded towards the three. 

*Helaine!* 

Helaine smiled tersely at the acknowledgment, allowing herself a brief moment of pleasure in stroking Flame's mane. "So... you had them under some kind of spell?" She asked. 

"Not exactly...What's wrong with him?" Helaine followed the stranger's stare to Pixel, who had a vaguely smitten smile wreathing his face. 

"Oh, nothing. He's often like that." Score shrugged. Pixel blushed

"I am not!" 

Helaine headed off another one of those arguments. "Sorry, but who are you?" 

The stranger smiled. "My name is Amaruit." Score and Helaine exchanged a look that said 'ah-ha!' The stranger continued. "I'm trying to find somebody called Helaine."

"So you can kill her." Score snorted. Amaruit looked confused. 

"Actually, no. At least, I don't think so. You won't believe this but—"

"You want us to help you track down and kill Bryndis so you can destroy the Diadem and take over the universe. No thanks." Score crossed his arms. Amaruit had the grace to look baffled. 

"What? Who? Are you being silly?"

Helaine bristled. Silly? Score put his hand on her arm. *Careful now* he mind-whispered. 

"We already know what you're like. We've met your kind before." Helaine snarled, thinking of the Triad. Crow tugged her tunic. 

"That's prejudice." The girl's voice was accusatory. Helaine blinked. To her complete and utter surprise, Amaruit began to cry. 

"I just want to go home." She sniffled. "This has been a lovely adventure but I just want to go home now. Please." 

Pixel moved to comfort her, speaking for the first time in awhile. "Er... I'm sorry... um... could we continue this discussion inside, Miss Amaruit? It's freezing." 

"Just Amaruit." A faint whimper. She stared at Pixel suspiciously. "And of course, assuming... that your friends don't mind." 

Score was about to open his mouth and mind very much but it was Helaine's turn to silence him. *Careful now* she mocked. They looked at each other and thought about the secret they shared. 

A short while later Amaruit collapsed on the sofa. "You have no idea." She said. "It started with this crazy man in all black—"

"Oracle?" Pixel demanded. 

"It was not I who found this bright mind. It must have been another of my kind" On cue, as always, Oracle blossomed into being. 

"He sort of looked like you...but he didn't rhyme. And he seemed...less sad." Amaruit stuck her hand through Oracle, who was doing his best doom-and-gloom impression. "But I could do that to him, too."

"He doesn't _have_ to rhyme either." Score glared at Oracle. Crow jumped up on the sofa next to Amaruit. 

"Don't worry," the girl said. "It all turns out happy." 

Pixel smiled at the resident clairvoyant, although he was not at all mollified. Crow's predictions sometimes took a lot of work to come true. "So anyway. Somebody like Oracle here betrays you and then you get tricked into leaving your home world. Then what? A series of baffling clues? Power-hungry wizards trying to suck your magic out of you?" 

"Hardly..." Amaruit screwed up her face. "He just wanted me to follow him to another city on my planet. He grumbled something about it taking a long time for me to grow into my powers and how annoyed he was. Then, we got to this place, and he had me touch some glowing crystal thing. But nothing happened. He got really angry and just left. That was when I discovered this book." She drew out from her knapsack a thick, familiar, leather-bound volume. Opening the cover, she pointed to an inscription. "Property of Helaine." She read aloud. 

"Hey, that's mine!" Helaine said, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to know who Helaine was. 

"Oh! You're Helaine? Fantastic!"  

"Shit" Helaine grumbled. She tried to call her book to her, to see if the girl had a duplicate copy. Nothing happened. The tome before her was _hers_, the one she'd had since she'd swiped it from Aranak's library. "You...how did you... _thief_!"

Amaruit was appalled. "No! Never! It was just sitting there... it sort of... called to me. But that's why I'm here. I figured since this was your book, you might be able to help me." 

"Helaine, _Cigam__ fo Koob_ called to you that night, in the library. I think it knows who  needs it. Or maybe who it needs." Pixel reminded her. 

Helaine softened. That was true. "But somebody is lying. And it's either Bryndis, or you." 

"This makes sense, Helaine. Think: imagine Amaruit is in our position a few years ago. She's confused, wields magic, and is generally a good person." He threw a fond look at her. "But Bryndis is the one who told us a convoluted story, whose explanation had gaps. If she was a wandering soul, why could she do magic? The Triad locked up all their magic in babies, remember? And that doesn't explain Destiny still. Amaruit must be the one telling the truth." 

Score sighed. "I want to believe you Pixel, but you're acting a little... lovesick. It might be messing with your judgment." Score noticed Amaruit shuffle a little in her seat as he said this. 

"Er... about that..." she sighed. "I think it's my fault."

"I doubt it." Helaine said with a short laugh. "Pixel is just very... emotional." 

"Not your fault at all." Confirmed Score. Pixel looked vaguely annoyed. 

"Okay..." she sounded doubtful. "Then could you help me? What exactly is going on?" 

There was a brief mind-to-mind conference. 

"Here's what we know. We were born Score, Helaine, and Pixel in three different worlds around the same time..."

Helaine rummaged through a closet. "What, are we were running a hostel here?" She muttered to herself. After letting Amaruit in on an abbreviated version of their lives, Pixel had insisted the brunette stay with them until they figured out what to do with Bryndis – whoever she was. 

Finding the bedding she needed in fairly decent shape, Helaine proceeded to yet another of Garonath's many empty rooms and used a spell to dust and make the bed. She needed time alone to think. First there was the kiss, then this stranger. She could understand why Pixel fell for her, but Flame and the other unicorns? Was there a giant banner proclaiming Amaruit the most amazing person in the Diadem that everyone could see but her?

Her and Score, that is. Her and Score. Score and her. It wouldn't be horrible. Might actually be nice. Great, even. She thought then, too, about the kiss. The secret. _Their_ secret. It existed solely and wholly between the two of them, but it was something separate and beautiful—something they'd created. Long after she died the secret would still exist, part of her and part of him, intangible. 

"Oh sweet damn." She whispered, plopping down onto her guest's bed. "When did I fall in love with him?" 

Oblivious, Score entered the kitchen, where he found, to his delight, an enormous soda fountain glass, the kind in old Coca-cola signs. It was filled with a pink-orange frothy foam and smelled delicious. A note was attached. 

_Pixel: this might help. _

_-A_

Score looked around furtively, then look a long sip. He was wiping the foam off his upper lip when Amaruit came in. 

"Oh you didn't!" She looked positively horrified.

"Er... sorry." Suddenly his vision cleared and he saw Amaruit as a vision of loveliness, his heart's true desire. _What on earth...?_

"You idiot!"

"What? It's not the end of the world... my sweet" Score blanched. Did he say that? 

Amaruit moaned. "Love."

"Oh I do!" Score exclaimed. Privately he could not believe the tripe coming from his mouth, but he didn't seem able to stop it. 

"No no no. That's my talent. That's my inborn magic. People fall in love with me. I have to turn it off if I want them to behave normally." She rubbed her forehead, which in Score's opinion was the most perfect forehead he'd ever seen. "It doesn't work if people are already smitten with someone else, but when I stifled my magic, Pixel still acted... enamored. So I made an antidote." 

But if I wasn't in love with her in the first place, what happens to me if I drink it? Score wondered. His thoughts were getting a little fuzzy. 

"But you weren't in love with me in the first place, as you must know, so the antidote has reversed effects." Amaruit sighed. "What a mess." 

"I will love you for all eternity, my heavenly princess." Score vowed, thinking for the briefest of seconds that something was amiss. Something about Helaine? No. There was only Amaruit. 

His darling sighed. "I'm afraid you will."

********

Do you hear that cackling sound in the background? Oh yes, that's definitely me. 

Happy New Year everybody, chapter 26 coming out sometime after January 15. 

As always, feedback appreciated. 

Aroo!


	26. Parchment

Bundled in an itchy red scarf, Crow knitted autumn flowers together into a chain. The unicorn Nova stood by, munching contentedly. "What's it like to be a unicorn?" The orphan asked plainly. 

Nova twisted her ears towards the girl. *What's it like to be human?* She returned. *I've only been a unicorn, so I really can't tell you how it's different than anything else.* 

"I don't know what it's like to be human." Crow said, not looking up from her chain. "I don't think I am one." 

A snort from the grass. *Of course you're human, child. You've got two legs and two arms and a poor sense of smell. What else would you be?* 

"I didn't mean human _that_ way," Crow sighed, looping her chain into a crown. Nova came over from her grazing spot. 

*How about this: I will let you explore my mind, so you can feel what it's like to be a unicorn... or at least this one. I will look in your mind and tell you if I find a human in there. Deal?*

Crow nodded. 

Pixel felt wonderful. He hummed as he stirred the pot of soup he was serving for dinner and added a little more salt. The arrival of Amaruit seemed to fill a gap – he felt whole in a way he never had before. He wished there was some way he could convince Score and Helaine of Amaruit's goodness. Normally he would have thought up some logical explanation, but something was happening here that overruled his head and settled in his heart. He tasted the soup. Delicious. 

A slight twinge in his gut let him know she was approaching. Pixel felt a preemptive blush warm his cheeks and quickly turned away to rummage through the herb cabinet. 

Amaruit did indeed enter, pursued by Score, who was looking a bit odd. "Look!" the girl snapped finally, "if you really loved me, you'd prove it by staying here with Pixel while I try to get you out of this!" 

"But I want to be in this, in love, forever!" Score protested, but he took a seat at the table while Amaruit exited. 

Pixel was stunned.

"You _love_ her?" He asked. "How can that be? What about Helaine?"

"What about me?" Helaine asked with a smile, sauntering jauntily into the kitchen and tasting Pixel's soup. 

"Well, I guess you're nice enough." Score frowned and his face spasmed a little, as though he were about to heave. A second later, he composed himself. "...but nothing compared to my goddess, my Amaruit." 

Only Pixel saw the brief flash of pain in Helaine's eyes. He might have realized then just how close Helaine and Score had come to finally being honest with their mixed-up feelings, but he was still in shock from seeing lovesick Score. Immediately, Helaine-the-warrior took over. 

"Well, who said I wanted to be anyone's goddess anyway?" She said, perhaps a little too bitterly. "Your soup tastes wretched." She informed Pixel, and stormed out of the kitchen. 

He put the spoon to his mouth again. She was right. 

Score looked at the slammed door with some interest. "What was that all about?" he asked. Pixel stared in disbelief. 

"What do you mean? You absolute jerk! Didn't you know that _Helaine is in love with you_?"

Score blinked. "Well..." he smiled to himself "I think I was beginning to get that idea."

"Then why in heaven's name would you say something so cruel to her?" 

"What did I say?" Score asked, doing a fantastic job of acting baffled. 

"You told her she paled in comparison to Amaruit, don't you remember?" Pixel's voice lost a little of its angry edge. 

"I love Amaruit!" Score said, a little automatically. He blinked again, as though clearing his head. "Helaine must hate me now." He said sadly, looking down at his hands. 

"I don't blame her!" Pixel snorted. "Don't you care about her feelings at all?"

"I care... I care very...much." Score sounded as though he was having to strain to say the words. "About her. Helaine." 

"Then what is your problem?" 

"I drank a love potion." Score said easily. "And now I'm in love...er... the farther away she gets the less I feel it. I think. And when you say her name, I feel it. A lot." 

"A love potion?" Pixel calmed down. Things made a lot more sense now. 

"I don't have a lot of control over myself when...she.... is around. And I really can't...talk...about... Helaine. It's hard."

"But that's okay! We can fix this! Go tell Helaine what happened and we can all figure out a solution together."

Score shook his head. "Can't." 

"Why not....oh." Pixel figured it out. "Your true feelings are for her, so the love potion has to work extra hard to overcome them...and you even harder to overcome the potion?"

Score nodded miserably. Pixel sighed, then procured paper and a pen. "At least write her a note, tell her what the truth is." 

So Score took the pen, and stared at the paper. He found it exceedingly difficult to write, but not because of that stupid love cocktail. Finally, ink touched parchment. This was the first of many. 

_Dear Helaine,_

_I imagine you are incredibly angry. Go ahead. In some deep corner of myself, I am angry too. This morning, something wonderful happened, and we pretended it didn't happen. This afternoon, something horrible happened, and I'd like to pretend it didn't happen either. I drank a love potion. It's a long story. But I'm not really in control of myself any longer, not around Amaruit,_(here there was a crossed out line where he had written 'the beautiful')_ and especially not around you. I'm sorry. Things could have turned out a lot better, but as usual, I screwed up. _

_-Score_

He wordlessly gave this to Pixel, who scanned it and frowned, but set off to deliver the message. 

Helaine was in her bathroom. She had yet to cry, but wanted to make sure she was in the shower in case that happened. So _stupid_... she should have known that it was really an accident. Helaine undressed and stood under the spout, casting the spell to make the water nearly scalding. She jumped back with a shriek when icy rust-colored water sprayed her. She recast the spell, focusing hard. Something in her magic snapped and went wrong.

Her shower turned into a dragon. 

Helaine scowled and tried throwing another spell at it. Instead of a fireball, petite dining room chairs shot forth from her hands and bounced off the porcelain hide of the shower/dragon. The beast turned its head towards her and sprayed her with more freezing water. Helaine snarled and grabbed her sword, conveniently leaning against the toilet. The old ways were best. 

When the metal first clipped the hard scales, sparks flew. The ceramic held firm, so Helaine focused her attention on the coiled metal of the shower head that now had eyes and a nose. It resisted her best attempts and spat water at her again. Helaine cursed and changed tactics. She rammed the heavy pommel of her sword into the dragon's side. The white scales cracked, and the beast wailed in pain, drenching her again with the filthy water. Helaine slammed the pommel into the cracked hide and was rewarded by a thick stream of water. She repeated this action in another spot, and another, until the beast laid down and cried mournfully as all the water ran out of it. As soon as it died, it transformed back into a shower, albeit a broken one. 

Pixel stepped through the broken door frame. "Helaine!" he yelped, and threw her a towel. She had the grace to look a little embarrassed as she covered herself, but mostly she was confused about her shower. 

"Why did you go berserk on the shower?" He demanded, staring at the rubble of tile and metal. 

"It turned into a dragon." She said simply, drying her sword on the bottom of her towel-dress. "I just wanted some hot water, and the magic went wrong... I could feel it. It was just like before." 

"You mean... back when we were eleven?"

"When we all hated each other."

"And we created those monsters to fight the trolls?"

"Exactly like that."

There was silence while they contemplated the significance of this. Helaine perched on the toilet and picked splinters of ceramic out from her feet. The towel slid up her thigh and Pixel flushed a deep violet. 

"I'm... uh... I'm going to go look at our map, see if I can find out what's up. And I'll tell Score, too. He should know about this." 

At his name, Helaine stiffened, but continued with her task. Pixel remembered his purpose for coming into her room.  "Here," he offered her the paper, "this is for you." He hurried out. 

A letter? Helaine opened and read, forgetting her feet. It was in Score's handwriting, doubtless, but she had to read it twice to be sure it was him. She set her finger on the words 'love potion'. Girls on Ordin were always saving up money to buy love potions from local midwives, hoping to get their old vile husbands to adore them. Helaine had never heard of one that actually worked. She carried the letter with her back into her bedroom, and after dressing, wrote on the back: 

If you truly are bespelled, find an antidote. If you are a lying rat, leave me alone. 

Helaine sent the letter to Score with a touch of her sapphire, then gingerly returned on bloodied heels to fix her shower. 

Score received the note, but unfortunately was distracted by the stunning face of his beloved at the time of its arrival. Although he was focusing hard on what she was saying, he could hear the love potion whispering "Isn't she pretty? Isn't she magnificent?" It was like trying to see clearly through fogged glass. Only a hazy misty idea of truth was reaching him. 

"...so, as far as I can tell," Amaruit was saying, "there is no cure." 

Deep inside, Score's heart stopped. 

"There is nothing in the Book of Magic. It's permanent. I'm so sorry..." She sighed, and exited the room as quickly as possible. 

Left alone, Score could feel the fog of love begin to burn off, and he picked up the parchment on his lap. It was his letter. On the reverse was Helaine's scorching response. He used his emerald to freshen the paper and remove the writing. 

_Dear Helaine,_

_There is no antidote. I am a rat, but I'm not lying. I can't leave you alone. We'll send Amaruit (the remarkable, the incredible)  to the other end of the Diadem. When I'm far from her, the influence lessens. Because it's you  _

Pixel walked into the room, stopping Score's train of thought. 

"The magic is wrong." He said shortly. 

"What do you mean?" Score asked, putting the letter down and getting up to stand next to his friend. 

"Helaine's shower just turned into a dragon. The-" 

"Is she okay?" Score interrupted. 

"She's fine. But she said it was exactly like before, when the analog on Jewel was incomplete. We need to get there, and fast, before anything else goes wrong." Pixel rubbed his forehead. 

Score almost laughed. "I thought we'd retired from this saving-the-universe business when we settled in on Dondar. Silly of me." 

*Pixel!* Nova's voice sounded inside the boy's head. *We need to talk!* 

"Is she breaking up with you?" Score joked. Pixel ignored his friend. It was like him to deal with stressful situations with humor. 

*About what?* Pixel returned. 

*Crow. She's.... she's something else.* 

Pixel and Score exchanged worried looks. "We have to split up." Pixel said finally. "Someone has to check on Crow and Nova, someone has to go to Jewel, and someone has to keep an eye on Amaruit. Much as I hate to admit it, we can't really trust her yet. Especially not now, with all this insanity happening." 

Score nodded. "We can't bring my buttercup of delight to Jewel. We don't know if she's powerful enough." 

"And you can't be with her because you'll go oogly-bananas and drool a lot." Pixel added. Score winced, but it was true. "Okay, I'll take Amaruit with me to see Crow. You and Helaine go to Jewel, and see what's happened." 

Score flinched. "I don't think Helaine is feeling particularly pleasant towards me right now." 

"Well the fate of the universe matters an itty bit more than your personal life. Now GO!" 

*****

And the Author says "Fie!" 

My excuse: Mononucleosis with a secondary strep infection. 

So.... review! And read the other Diadem stories... or write your own. 

Aroo!


	27. Love

**NOTE: in this chapter, I was forced to use "=" to substitute for the asterisk. I hope it isn't too confusing, it's not my fault.**

* * *

Despite the threat in Pixel's voice, Score did not immediately seek out Helaine. Instead, he dumbly wandered into his room and sat at his desk. He thought, not about any of the present crises, but about his mother. In his mind she was dark, and pretty, and only a misty memory. After she had died, he was so afraid he would forget her that he used to hide in her closet, before Bad Tony threw her stuff out. He pulled her blouses and skirts and sweatpants to the floor and made a little Score-sized nest out of them. How _had_ she died? Bad Tony never gave him an answer on that. For the umpteenth time since his last encounter with his father, he wondered what it meant that his mother was a _strega_. The only _strega_ he knew of was Strega Nona, the children's book about the boy who ate too much spaghetti.

In a way numb, Score's mind wandered off task and he lifted his "encyclopedia" off its shelf above his desk. The book was under an enchantment; it only opened to one page, but it was always exactly the page he wanted. True to form, the book opened to an entry on Italy.

_There are three sects of Italian witches (_stregas_). They deal with the magic of the earth, moon, and stars. Although their powers are largely imagined, some _stregas_ have been known to have the Sight. These witches are offered glimpses of potential futures, but they frequently are unable to correctly interpret their visions. According to the Wizard Blitz in his manuscript _Lesser Magicians of the Rim Worlds_, these witches are descendants of powerful wizards who were trapped on Earth after the Breaking of the Diadem. This explains their watered down magic. No _strega_ has ever been known to cross through a portal. _

Score closed the encyclopedia and re-opened it. His mother's smiling face beamed back at him. He bent over the page to read the scanty biographical information when he realized with a shock that the words beneath her picture had changed. _Camilla Rachele Caruso_ the name was the same but here was something different:

_Born Camilla diAlberto in 1961 on the rim world Earth, this minor _strega_ is known for her only great prophecy about her son, Matthew ("Score") Francis Caruso, predicting his rise to power in the Diadem. Some experts argue that she was merely a vessel of the Triad, not possessing the true Sight. _

Score frowned at the description of his mother as "minor" and "merely a vessel", but continued reading.

_Her legitimacy will be determined by the accuracy of her second great prophecy, that her son would participate in _notte di martirio_. _

The article continued, with a brief acknowledgement of her marriage to Bad Tony and Score, and then ending with her "mysterious disappearance and ultimate death" in the summer of 1995. But Score's mind ran over his mother's prophecy. He started to close the encyclopedia but a voice stopped him.

"She was really pretty" Helaine remarked. She peered over his shoulder and then turned his chin to look at him full in the face. "You look more like her than Bad Tony." Helaine's typical bellicosity was tempered by this woman. Score shut the encyclopedia and Helaine remembered her goal in coming into his room. "What were you going to write?" she asked, showing him his incomplete letter.

A thousand words came to mind, but Score couldn't voice any of them.

"Fine." Helaine said, and turned to leave.

"Wait." His throat was hoarse. "No. Come back."

She sat on his bed, some distance away, and waited. What did she want from him? A vow of his undying love and affection? An apology? She didn't know herself.

Meanwhile, Score scribbled on the parchment, attempting to squeeze out what was inside of him but covered up by the frothy pink love he had for Amaruit. He finished as best he could and offered it to Helaine, who plucked it from his hand and resettled on the bed to read.

"Because it's you I would wear my feet out following, not her. However I act around that girl is shallow and fabricated. I could love you, far away from her."

Score waited. He felt like he had a belly full of cold oatmeal. Would she laugh at him? Run away from him? Attack him?

"No." Helaine said, shaking her head sadly.

"No?"

"No, you can't love me. I'm sorry. You are devoted to her." Helaine's voice was magnificently steady, but she began to lose control. "And I can't do that. I can't be second to someone. I couldn't live a life with you knowing that she existed. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" Helaine shook, but didn't cry. They both sat in somber silence until Score moved to comfort her with a trembling arm. The love potion didn't take to kindly to his intimate embrace with another woman and his skin burned, his mind clouded.

Through their mental connection, Helaine could feel some of his pain. "I'm hurting you." She said with a quavering voice.

"Yes" Score managed. "You are."

There was silence as Score waited for Helaine to recover herself, during which he ground his teeth together in defiance of the love potion. It was a small rebellion, this half-hug, but it felt good. Then Score remembered the urgent task Pixel had set before him. He dropped his arm and stood up.

"We have to go to Jewel." he said.

"I know. It was my shower that tried to eat me. I suppose Pixel talked to you about it?"

So they left, walking together, almost touching, to the courtyard and opened the portal to the axis of the diadem: Jewel.

The first visible clue that something was wrong was the absolute shambles the analog room was in. The unicorn horn had crumbled to dust, and someone had strewn the gems across the room, shattering some. From the splintered doorway Helaine could see that the diamond was still intact and glowing brightly. "Good" Score said when she pointed this out to them. "At least that's one bad guy we won't have to worry about." The fate of the emerald, ruby, and sapphire could not be observed, so they carefully stepped over the broken doorframe into the analog room.

Without noise, the gems crowded around Helaine, settling on her head, her neck, and breast. Others spun around her ankles so rapidly that they appeared to be part of a radiant gown. "Welcome, Empress Helaine, ruler of all that is noble and just," she heard. Turning to the sound, Helaine saw her image in the mirror, regally adorned with the sparkling stones. Her reflection bowed to her. She opened her right hand and felt a scepter fall in it. She was magnificent.

Score looked into the face of his mother.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

She smiled and smoothed his hair affectionately. "That's not important. Listen. While I was alive I made a prophecy that you, my son, would be the great sacrifice."

"I don't think I like the sound of that" Score muttered.

"Hush. The world needs you. A long time ago the great God sacrificed himself so that life could occur. Every 10,000 years that promise is renewed by the death of a great magic user. It is the _Notte di Martirio._"

"I saw that in my encyclopedia. But you're asking me to die? I don't get it. Why me?"

"Without you and your sacrifice, the life of Jewel ends. Without Jewel, the Diadem falls apart, and the other planets will careen and collide and havoc will break out. The universe needs you, Score. Beware of those who will dissuade you from this. You are the savior. You alone."

Helaine shook him, and Score's mother disappeared. "That was rather embarrassing."

"What did you do that for?" Score asked angrily.

"Sorry" she apologized. "You weren't affected by the glamour?"

"No." He snapped, still mulling over his mother's image and terrifying words.

"Oh. Maybe it only worked on the first person to enter the room…"

"What happened?"

"Nothing real. I imagined I was a powerful queen. Luckily Pixel contacted me or else I might have been dreaming about my crown for hours."

"Pixel?"

"Yes. Didn't you hear him? He said that since Bryndis and Amaruit probably have related magics, we should be on guard for walking into glamors that make us feel important or loved or powerful." As she spoke, Helaine picked her way across the room to where the gems for Ordin, Calomir and Earth should have been. She instantly found the sapphire, and rejoiced at the flicker of Eremin's soul within. "Fen-suckled buzzard" she gloated "you're still trapped in a nut-hook!"

For the millionth time, Score did not try to understand Helaine.

Helaine's pleased expression disintegrated. She pressed the ruby into Score's hand. It was dull and lifeless. "Nantor has escaped."

"Traxis too." Score pointed to the lackluster emerald partially obscured by a wayward onyx. Helaine cursed in that particular way of hers. "We better tell Pixel" she said, reaching for her agate. But before she could open the channel, Pixel's voice appeared in her head.

=Helaine, something weird is going on=

=I know!= she chimed in =Nantor and Traxis have escaped!=

=What?= He sounded distressed, but returned to his original subject. =Look, after I contacted you about the glamour traps, Crow grew again. She's got to be… at least twenty or thirty years old. And Nova says her mind feels funny too. Not human.=

=Not human?= Score asked.

=No. She's one hundred percent human, but it seems like she's also one hundred percent something else.=

=That's two hundred percent.= Score stated the obvious. =That doesn't add up.=

=I know. It's crazy. But I think everything is connected somehow. And that prophecy that Oracle told you he heard. I just don't know…= Pixel trailed off.

Helaine sighed. Pixel would figure it out eventually. Unfortunately he had a bad record for only figuring things out after they'd already been trussed by the bad guys. "Let's go Score. We've got some life potentials to round up and stick back in their cells."

Neither Score nor Helaine had done much exploring on Jewel. In fact, they largely avoided it. So neither was sure exactly how to go about looking for renegade former dictators. "We'll search the bottom of the castle first" Helaine declared. "Those specks are heavy, so they would sink into a basement or dungeon."

Score stared incredulously. "Is that true?"

"Does it matter if it's not?"

Score decided it didn't. He jauntily followed Helaine until they found a set of stone stairs leading to the castle's underbelly. As if reading his mind, Helaine stopped midway through her descent and turned to face him. "Just because I'm not actively eviscerating you doesn't mean I'm not still angry about your… indiscretion."

It was hardly a fair term for accidental love-potion consumption, but Score didn't protest. He was almost thankful for the distraction of having to save the world. It took the edge off the potion.

At the bottom of the stairs, Helaine and Score paused. Beyond them, in the next room, they could easily see the figures of Nantor and Traxis, on their knees, in front of the shadow of Bryndis. "You'll find them, right? Especially the boy" she purred, and Nantor and Traxis mumbled their agreements.

=What's wrong with them?= Helaine demanded. =Why are they acting so odd?=

=They're in love with her.= Score didn't smile. =I guess she and Amaruit have the same influence over people… or scummy wart bags like those two.=

=Foul quislings!= Helaine snorted, which was a very difficult thing to do in her mind. Score contemplated complimenting her when he felt the heavy eye of Traxis upon him.

He squelched his initial desire to run very very far away and instead opened up a large pit underneath his somewhat-former-self. Traxis merely floated over it. Score spoke a few short words about excrement and tried fireballs. These, of course, sailed merrily through the ghostly figure of Traxis. "How do you kill someone who is immaterial?" he asked Helaine. She pursed her lips and reached for her onyx. Her image flickered and her hair grayed. Score blinked, and before him stood Eremin.

"Nantor, Traxis! You bumble-footed mewling pus-heads! What are you doing consorting with _that_ woman?" Helaine's typically mordant voice was laced with venom. "We killed that common-born bitch ages ago."

The two shades stopped and stared at Eremin, their allegiance obviously confused. Bryndis stepped out around the corner and stared. "I didn't release you" she said, frowning.

"Because I can't be turned into a fawning puttock like these addled mokes?" Helaine tossed her head—Eremin's head—arrogantly. "At least you recognized my superiority. Now, release these dodder-heads from your glamour and I may not scatter your ill spirit to the winds."

Bryndis looked actually frightened, but then the raven-haired witch caught sight of Score, who was doing his best to look like scenery. "Ha!" Bryndis muttered an incantation and Score found himself covered in thick sticky webbing. It didn't render him immobile, but he couldn't remove it. It was gross, but nothing harmful. Helaine, after ascertaining that Score did not require her assistance, drew her sword and leapt over the pit Score had created to attack Bryndis.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Bryndis said smugly. Helaine halted, but remained ready. "That netting is highly flammable." She demonstrated by lighting a bit that had fallen to the floor by her feet on fire with a snap of her fingers. The webbing disintegrated in a flash of flame. "And your friend is covered in it." Score had to agree with the witch on that point. It seemed impossible to remove. "Now—"

Helaine rushed at the sorceress, just as Bryndis created two fireballs that dangled inches away from Score. "And now I will burn him alive if you do not retract your sword from my throat and agree to be taken prisoner."

Helaine looked helplessly at Score. She'd been tricked. She let her sword down a little and Bryndis pushed her to the floor. Rather than explode in anger and pride, as she might once have done, Helaine rolled back on her feet and calmly walked around the pit to Score's side.

"You pushed me. You're solid. You weren't solid in the Hall of the Ancients." Helaine wrinkled her forehead at this new piece of information.

"Yeah, and you weren't evil then, either." Score added helpfully.

"That's because this tomb is the only place I can exist for the time being. In the Hall of the Ancients I am able only to project my image. And I'm not necessarily evil. You see, I only wanted to find Amaruit so I could regain my body and finally leave this dratted place. But when I saw your mother's prophecy, Score, I realized I had the opportunity for something grander. Unfortunately, that will involve a small sacrifice on your part."

At the word 'sacrifice', Score froze. His mind called forth his nightmare, and he remembered. He remembered the smell of this sticky silky web stuff, remembered the frozen stares of Traxis and Nantor. His nightmare was real, and it was today, and it was destiny.

"Prophecy? What is she talking about, Score?" Helaine turned her puzzled face to him.

"My mother…" he began "could do some magic. She foresaw me ruling the Diadem with you and Pixel, and she also foresaw my death."

"Precisely" Bryndis chimed in, "you, Score, are the magician who will die to appease an angry God."

Helaine frowned "That's not right," she said quietly. There was a small silence.

"So…" Score felt like he was made of mercury, seeping into the floor. "Are you going to kill me now or later?"

To his surprise, Bryndis laughed. "Neither! You think I _want_ this sacrifice to happen? Hardly! If I prevent it, then I'll have ensured the collapse of Jewel. It's what we—" she gestured to the lifeless Nantor and Traxis "—dreamed about. If you survive tonight, then I'll have succeeded, finally!" Her laugh was just short of a cackle.

"Then why do you have me all tied up, if you don't want to kill me?" Score asked. It was getting easier to speak of his death.

"I have to keep you from sacrificing yourself."

"You mean… suicide?"

"Obviously."

Score shook his head. "This is way too Twilight Zone. Although you are an evil psycho villain, like the umpteen others we have come across, we're having a conversation with you, and you're not trying to kill me."

Bryndis shrugged. "As long as you're being so cooperative, I might as well tell you the real story, not that silly one I concocted for you earlier. Two thousand or so years ago the former Triad and I murdered all one hundred of the council members. There was an enormous power vacuum, and after we'd taken our share, we let the rest erupt into the universe. Sure, lots of scum got their hands on it, but we were always able to control them. Everything was wonderful until we discovered that we were too powerful to leave this boring hellhole of a planet. So we forged a diadem."

"_The_ diadem?" Score asked.

"No. A physical one. A crown. We made it of gold and yew and set a diamond in the center. Then we drew straws to see who would have to wear the diadem of power, and I lost. The other three left for ten years, and when they came back, I was eager to shed the crown and travel. But the others, they didn't want to stay. They made a pact and abandoned me almost as soon as they arrived. So, I did the only thing I could. I found the relic sword Geismorte in the chambers of a council member and gutted myself. I, the soul, was separated from my body and magic, which became the first incarnation of the girl Amaruit.

"Without someone to wear the diadem, everything fell apart. The triad rushed back to Jewel and bound each other with a spell that would terminate their lives if they did not spend at least one year out of three on Jewel. This prevented any two from abandoning the third. They hid Geismorte and continued to live.

"But a soul seeks its body, and within twenty years, Amaruit made her way to Jewel. She was naïve and simply asked to talk to the others. They killed her, of course, but when she reappeared twenty years later, they realized I was still a threat. So they programmed the first Oracle to locate her and destroy her as soon as she came into her powers. But somehow, this girl with my face and magic managed to reappear in Jewel, becoming more aggressive as the reincarnations continued.

"These began the paranoid years."

At this point, Score realized Helaine was not beside him. A warm joy calmed his nerves. Helaine had escaped to bring help, certainly. The longer Bryndis was distracted by this long and ancient story, the more time Helaine had to get away safely.

"The paranoid years?" he repeated with a sycophantic smile.

"Yes. The Triad enlisted the Jewel's Thirteen, their secret police and security. They also created an escape route based on the separation of body and soul. Without Geismorte, they could send their corrupt souls along with their physical characteristics and magical abilities into the wombs of women on rim worlds. They used this successfully several dozen times when their hegemony was threatened over two thousand years.

"It was Sarman who disrupted their system. His rise to power was so quick that the Triad were caught largely unaware. Although it may seem as though they had time to plan, the notes and clues they threw together for you were done in a manner of minutes."

"That explains the poor quality." Score tried to joke.

"And because their escape spell was not ready, the three were willing to make a desperate move. They used Geismorte. This effectively did the same thing as their spell, but with the crucial difference of leaving their souls trapped on Jewel. The children they sent to the womb were open for the infusion of brand new souls, and" here Bryndis sneered, "disgustingly nice ones at that. That was how you were able to defeat them and lock them up inside rocks."

"But what about the lovely Amaruit?" Score asked. "Why didn't the Oracle kill her like he was supposed to?"

Bryndis shrugged. "I imagine that since you toppled the Triad, there was no longer any magic to power the program and he couldn't complete his task. Then through some cursed luck, she found you." Bryndis looked around. She and Score were alone. "Where are Nantor and Traxis _now_?" she grumbled. "They never used to have attention spans this short."

Thankful that Bryndis still hadn't noticed Helaine's disappearance, Score settled back against the wall as best he could, away from the dangerous fireballs that still threatened him. If he had been sincere at that moment about his fate, he could have thrown himself into them. But somehow, death by fire, all alone, was not how his dream told him he would die. There would be a sword involved…

As soon as Bryndis turned her back to chase down her former classmates, Helaine somehow oozed from the shadows. =Shh…= she mind whispered. She showed him her green chrysoprase with a wink. Score, of course, could hardly keep his own gems straight, let alone Helaine's and Pixel's. He had no clue what she was planning.

Helaine used her control over earth to weave a thin layer of soil between her friend and the icky-sticky webbing. The thin layer expanded as she added more and more dirt until finally she collapsed the earth back to the ground. The web stuck to the soil, and Score was free.

=Now let's go.= Helaine tugged on his wrist impatiently =I told Pixel everything I heard, about how she thinks she needs to save you from killing yourself. We're meeting him in the analog room.=

Score pulled away. =Helaine…it's true=

She stopped. =No. It's not. You're deluding yourself. You're not supposed to die.=

=I saw my mother, Helaine. I saw her. She told me that it was me, that without me, the universe would end.=

=Saw her where? In the analog room? That was the glamour, idiot! It made you feel important.=

=No. Listen. Do you remember the night you spent in my room?= Score demanded. Helaine blushed.

=Yes. But I didn't think you did.=

=That dream I had? That took place here. This is my fate, Helaine. I have to die to save the world.=

=No you don't! It's her glamour! You're not a mythical savior, you're Score!=

=Oh. Is that it?= Score asked coldly. =You're jealous because for once destiny is raising me up above you and Pixel? It's me. Matthew Francis Caruso. _I'm_ important. _I'm_ needed.=

=Score, just listen to yourself!= Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. =This is not right! This is not how God works! This is wrong!= She tried to throw her arms around him but he slapped them away. =Please, listen to me. I'm your friend, Score, and I love you the way no one else in the entire Diadem does. I would do anything you ask, but I am not letting you die because of some woman's twisted view of religion!= Helaine was actively crying now, as silently as possible. Bryndis was still only in the next room.

=You don't love me.= Score softened a little, and reached to take her hand. The love potion caused it to burn. =Perhaps because I am your dear friend, but you can't love a condemned man. Besides…you would never have been mine anyways. Remember Amaruit?=

Helaine stared at the ground.

=Look, for once in my life I have the chance to not be a coward. I'm going to face this like a man on your planet. Lots of courage and few brains. Because it's necessary. I'm sorry our feelings were tangled, but this way you will be able to live long enough to devote yourself to someone, even if it's not me. You'll love again, Helaine.=

="To say that you can love one person all your life is just like saying that one candle will continue to burn as long as you live"= Helaine murmured slowly. =But that's not true. Not for me.= And she looked up with her cornflower blue eyes, made bright by tears, in that startling way that broke his heart and truly made him mourn his death. She put her hands on his cheeks and slowly kissed him with the firm determination that marked everything she did. There was no mistaking this for anything but a real-kiss, the one Score had ached for since the fake-kiss saved his life on Earth. Because of the love potion, he felt like he was swallowing lava, and it was too much for him to touch her anywhere else. Helaine felt in his mind equal parts pain and bliss and forced herself to withdraw. She licked her lips and tasted only surrender.

Helaine unsheathed her sword and laid it across her heart. =By my honor as a daughter of the House of Votrin, I swear that I shall not outlive you this night. If you fall, it is because I have failed at the cost of my life to keep you alive.=

=Helaine…= Score sighed =I have to do this=.

=So do I=

Score looked at her for a minute and contemplated his next move. Was he going to die without ever kissing her again? Yes. Die without ever seeing unicorns again? Yes. Die without ever teasing Pixel one last time? Yes. But the weight of the world rested heavily on him. Was he going to have to die by his own hand? Apparently so.

Score snatched Helaine's sword from her and sprinted off across the room. Helaine dashed after him, wielding her dagger. She caught up to him easily and knocked him to the floor, careful to step on the blade of her sword so he didn't fall on it. The commotion attracted the attention of Bryndis, who stormed into the room.

"Stupid girl!" she barked "What are you doing?" Bryndis stretched out her hand and a sword flew into it. She used the flat edge of the blade to knock Helaine away from Score, and kicked the sword he grasped away from him. She then turned her sword back to Helaine, who was still armed only with a dagger. Bryndis delivered a heavy blow to Helaine's side, but then Score was between the two women, brandishing Helaine's sword, his suicide-sacrifice forgotten for the moment.

"If I have to die, she gets to live" he snarled, lunging at the woman with the weapon. He didn't have a clue how to handle a sword, but it gave him a minute to check on Helaine. She didn't appear to be bleeding, thanks to the heavy chain mail she wore everywhere, and was slowly getting to her feet.

"You've got it backwards," Bryndis corrected him, attempting to reach around him to stab Helaine. "You're living and _she's_ dying."

Score gave up on doing anything with the sword, and focused on keeping between Helaine and Bryndis. The problem was that they both wanted him out of the way. Helaine tried to reach for her sword back, and Bryndis seized the opportunity to deliver a stab to the gut. But Helaine's hand slipped from the handle and she fell back, and Bryndis's sword, seeking her flesh, found Score's instead.

Both women stared at the wound the sword left. "It's small." Bryndis said.

"We can heal him." Helaine added, placing her hands over the red hole in his right side. Bryndis added her hands and the former combatants focused their energies on speeding up time to knit together his skin. But the harder they tried, the more wretched Score looked. Helaine helped him to lie down on the ground when he began to sway. Neither sorceress understood. The wound really was insignificant. But a thin silvery shine began to gather on Score's chest, like dew in the morning, and pool together. Bryndis gasped and scuttled, looking for the sword.

"What is it? What's going on?" Helaine demanded. Bryndis showed her the handle of the sword.

GEISMORTE

"That's his soul leaving him."

Helaine stared wide-eyed. "Well, do something! Stop it! Save him!"

"If I knew how, don't you think I would have mended myself a long time ago?" Bryndis snapped back.

Helaine stroked his hair, touched his lips, held his hand. She whispered in his ear and shouted at his glazed-over eyes. She cried.

Bryndis watched all this silently. Nantor and Traxis entered the room, as they had finally escaped from the diversion Helaine had set for them. They knelt down next to Bryndis, and all three observed the silvery mist rise and disintegrate, and Helaine rest her cheek on his chest. They didn't know she was speaking to Pixel through her distraught mind, incoherent as a child.

Finally Bryndis spoke. "And the world is safe for another millennium."

"That's not true." Helaine whispered without turning to face the woman.

"It is. I saw his vision. He was the intended sacrifice. The promise is renewed."

Helaine sat up and turned. "What you saw was his reaction to your glamour spell. I won't believe that a world demands the death of a good person."

Bryndis shrugged. "Suit yourself. It was a solid plan, though." Helaine glared silently through bleary eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you too. There's no point."

Helaine thought about this. "No. Fight me."

This elicited stares from the three. "Do you have a death wish?" Bryndis asked.

"No. But I would like to see you dead." Helaine stood and took her sword from Score's hand. "Come on. Fight me."

As soon as Bryndis got to her feet, Helaine began swinging blindly with her sword. She parried nothing, gave no ground, and yet seemed completely incapable of a competent stroke. She didn't notice when Traxis and Nantor, the lovesick former dictators, attempted to pull her off their mistress. She didn't notice when Pixel, Crow, and Amaruit came running down the stairs.

She did notice when Crow, looking at least thirty, walked straight onto her sword.

"Helaine." She said, showing no signs of discomfort at the iron blade lodged in her stomach. "Stop this now."

Helaine obeyed.

Crow smiled, and instantly Helaine felt better. Exhausted, but better. She dropped the handle of her sword and sank to the ground beside Score once more. Crow plucked the sword out of herself as though it were no more than a pesky splinter. There was no hole.

Pixel put a comforting arm around Helaine. "Don't worry," he said calmly, "I figured it all out, and everything it going to be fine, just like Crow said it would."

The former orphan girl took Amaruit by the wrist and nabbed Bryndis with her other hand. "You should be whole" she said, and gently forced the two together until they merged. The old soul of Bryndis disappeared into the young body of Amaruit, who coughed up a small seed. Crow picked it up. "This is the bad seed inside you," she said, ostensibly to Amaruit/Bryndis, but somehow also aimed at Helaine. "You had two thousand years of hatred and resentment lodged in your soul, and you were sick. Now you will be healthy."

The once-girl sat down next to Score. She softly opened his mouth, then gathered something in the air into her palms. She showed it to Helaine. It was the silvery liquid of his soul. "You should be whole" she said sternly as she poured it down his throat. Score coughed and sat up. He didn't seem surprised to see Crow. "Once upon a time" she said, "there was a good and loving God who sacrificed himself for all life. That one time was more than enough from now until eternity. What your mother foresaw was this evening. What she didn't know was that it was entirely unnecessary. You acted bravely Score, but in the end Helaine was right. Go and live."

Crow shifted slightly to face Helaine. She smiled. "You should be whole."

"Who are you?" Helaine asked.

"Thank you, Helaine. And thank you, Pixel, and Score. I am Love. You created me."

Crow stood and picked up Geismorte. She stared at the hilt before snapping the blade as easily as a twig. She sent a look to Traxis and Nantor. "Back where you belong." They disappeared.

"Before I leave," Crow told her silent audience. "I will recommend this to you: the diadem that the original four created is still in existence, and it is not on Jewel. You ought to retrieve and destroy it, for in the wrong hands it is a powerful weapon."

And as easily as Oracle, Crow faded out of the dim dungeon light.

Pixel was the first to speak. "Nova did say she was something else…" A little ways away from the three, Amaruit/Bryndis stirred. Pixel looked at her. "So, are you Amaruit now, or Bryndis?"

"Amaruit." She replied easily. "I don't feel much different. Just somehow… more complete." Watching her curl and uncurl her fingers, Score realized something significant.

"I'm not in love with you anymore."

Everyone stared at him. The love potion had been largely forgotten in the half hour.

"Well, that makes sense." Amaruit decided. "It was only supposed to last for the rest of your life… and you died."

Score grinned. He felt free and light, and decidedly amazing.

Helaine turned to Pixel. "When I contacted you earlier, and you kept saying 'it's Crow, it's Crow', is that because you knew she could somehow fix everything?"

Pixel nodded. "I figured it out partially through the prophecy Oracle told us he overheard. 'Scavenging birds claim the old throne'. We were thinking too literally. But a crow is a scavenging bird, and Crow certainly seemed to take over a few things. When she aged, it was always when we were in contact with Bryndis somehow, as though she was maturing specifically to deal with something chaotic."

"Huh." Score snorted. "So this whole thing really had nothing to do with us at all. It was about Crow becoming who she needed to be."

"Basically." Pixel admitted. He snuck a glance and Helaine and Score, and saw that although they had not celebrated Crow's gift with an enormous kiss (as he'd assumed would happen), their pinky fingers were interlocked, and both were somewhat flushed. He grinned. "Well, I think Amaruit and I will check out the analog room, see if it's still a mess. Although I have a feeling that Crow straightened that out for us too." He helped Amaruit to her feet and beamed at her.

=There he goes again,= Score said privately to Helaine, =mooning over ladies.= She laughed. They watched Pixel and Amaruit ascend the stairs, but just before they disappeared from sight, Score hollered up at them:

"PIXEL! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU HEAR ME? NONE! WILL THE FOUR OF US GO ON A DOUBLE DATE!"

And although this is certainly not the end of the adventures of the Triad (plus one), it is the end of this one.

* * *

=====  
My FINAL Author's Note:   
=====

It has been over three years since I began this account to allow my meretricious and, frankly, ridiculous Harry Potter story to shine. Since then, as you know, I've switched tactics to Diadem fiction, with my two fluffy one-shots and the exhaustingly long "Triad". In fact, "Triad" is the only story I've worked on for almost a year and a half now (putting aside silly things I write that never see the public eye). But I'm proud of it, and thankful for this community that allows even small niches of storytelling to survive.

If I was to thank everyone, this chapter would be too large to upload. It's already massive at 6000 words, about triple my normal. So I'll submit the thank yous as a review (since author's note only chapters aren't allowed)

A few notes on names and other junk:  
"geismorte" is a semi-German word meaning "soul death"  
Amaruit is inuit for (if I remember properly) wolf (or maybe fox)  
Crocidolite is the gem I wanted to work into the story but I couldn't. I just thought it was a cool word. Maybe it would give Pixel crocodile powers or something. I dunno.  
A lot of Helaine's insults and language I compiled from years of studying Shakespeare, but I have to give credit to Pete Levin ) for inspiring "fen-suckled buzzards"  
"Aroo!" my close-out line, was the answer I used to give when asked "what sound do kangaroos make?" I stuck it on the end of my stories (so much shorter than "love and a peanut butter sandwich") starting in 02 or so… but I've gotten a lot of queries about it.

Well….. I hope you enjoyed the story. I know I did. Questions, comments, things to do differently next time? Hit the review button, or send me an email ). I won't be on hiatus too long. I'm not sure if I'm going to do a sequel/prequel or grab the Triad from a totally different angle but they're so much fun to write about I know I can't stay away. And now its 4am. I've been writing for six hours basically straight through, trying to get this last chapter exactly the way I want. But it was worth it. I hope you agree.

And finally, the biggest of everything: THANK YOU Mr. John Peel for creating this world, and for not suing me for playing in it.

Very much AROO

Ellen


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